auton
See also: Auton, autón, and aŭton
English
WOTD – 1 November 2013
Etymology
Coined by Robert Holmes in 1969, from a contraction of automaton.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɔː.tɒn/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈɑ.tɑn/, /ˈɔ.tɑn/
Noun
auton (plural autons)
- (science fiction) A machine or robot, usually in the form of a living being, designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions.
- 1974, Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, page 55
- Not far away in the woods the Auton had been standing motionless under a tree. It was shaped like a man but it was not human.
- 1986, Vernor Vinge, Marooned in Realtime
- Juan made seven attempts to pervert the auton. One involved twelve hundred years of careful observation, timing the failure of various subsystems, maneuvering the auton into a position where he might take control and get transportation to resources in near space..
- 2002, Sean McMullen, Voyage of the Shadowmoon, page 461
- "The Metrologan Order built the auton that was Ninth. How can you be so sure that she was not so well crafted that she really did have her own will?"
- 1974, Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, page 55
Related terms
- automat
- automatic
- automatization
- automatize
- automation
- automaton
Translations
(science fiction) A machine or robot, usually in the form of a living being
Anagrams
- tauon
Finnish
Noun
auton
- Genitive singular form of auto.
Anagrams
- Tauno, ontua, tauon, tuona
Occitan
Etymology
From Latin autumnus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [awˈtu]
Noun
auton m (plural autons)
- autumn
See also
Seasons in Occitan · sasons (layout · text) | |||
---|---|---|---|
prima (“spring”) | estiu (“summer”) | auton (“autumn”) | ivèrn (“winter”) |