MECHANICAL


Meaning of MECHANICAL in English

I. -nə̇kəl, -nēk- adjective

Etymology: Middle English mechanicall, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French mechanique, mecanique (from Latin mechanicus ) + Middle English -all -al

1.

a. : of, relating to, or concerned with machinery or tools

mechanical design

nothing is more exasperating to the mechanical farmer than to be frustrated in his plans by lack of essential supplies — Country Life

became one of the skilled mechanical superintendents of his day — Edna Yost

the public had recognized the need for education in agriculture and the mechanical and industrial arts — J.B.Conant

: produced or operated by a machine or tool

agitate a substance by mechanical shaking

a mechanical saw

b. : of or relating to manual operations

2. : of or relating to artisans, craftsmen, or machinists

3.

a. : done as if by a machine : seeming to be uninfluenced by will or emotion : automatic , involuntary

busy in a leisurely mechanical way — Douglas Stewart

writers … learned but narrow in their range of feeling, dry, mechanical , timid, subservient — Van Wyck Brooks

b. : absorbed in, concerned with, or devoted to technicalities or minutiae

nor was capacity shown for anything above a mechanical handling of the matter — H.O.Taylor

4.

a. : relating to, governed by, or in accordance with mechanics

the belief that the whole universe is a mechanical contrivance in which nothing can happen except in absolute accordance with the eternal and unalterable laws of mechanics — M.R.Cohen

one of the first applications of mechanical energy in Texas manufacturing was the use of water power in pioneer sawmills and gristmills — American Guide Series: Texas

b. : relating to the quantitative relations of force and matter as distinguished from mental, vital, and chemical

the mechanical pressure of a wind of about 800 miles per hour could be tolerated by the well supported body — H.G.Armstrong

5. : relying on mechanics for theory or hypothesis

mechanical physiologists

mechanical determinism

6. : automatic

a mechanical stoker

7. : caused by, resulting from, or relating to a process that involves a purely physical as opposed to a chemical change

mechanical weathering

mechanical erosion

8. of pulp : made from groundwood — contrasted with chemical

Synonyms: see spontaneous

II. noun

( -s )

1. obsolete : mechanic 2a

2. also mechanical scheme : a piece of finished copy consisting typically of type proofs, hand lettering, and art positioned and mounted for photomechanical reproduction in a letterpress, offset, or other printing plate — called also paste-up

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.