mechanism
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Learned borrowing from New Latin mechanismus, from Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “machine”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
mechanism (countable and uncountable, plural mechanisms)
- (within a machine or machinery) Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
- Any combination of cams, gears, links, belts, chains and logical mechanical elements.
- 2012 March 1, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, page 112-3:
- A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.
- A group of entities, such as objects, that interact together.
- A mental, physical, or chemical process.
- Any process of, or system designed to manage useful energy conversion.
- (philosophy) The theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes.
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
- → Welsh: mecanism
TranslationsEdit
mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion
|
mental, chemical, or physical process
|
process of, or system designed to manage useful energy conversion