Word: mechanical Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-der.? Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós) Ancient Greek μηχανικός (mēkhanikós)bor. Latin mēchanicusder. Old French mecaniquebor. Middle English mechanic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English mechanical English mechanical From Middle English mechanical, mechanicalle, mechanycalle, equivalent to mechanic + -al. Pronunciation: /məˈkænɪkəl/, /məˈkænəkəl/ 1. Manually created layout of artwork that is camera ready for photographic reproduction. Example: Since we are dealing with copy in paste-up form, we are now concerned with the preparation and assembly of elements suitable for camera-ready copy, positioned on the mechanical according to the rough layout supplied. Example: We'll start with a simple mechanical for a standard 7" x 10" ad, using one block of copy, some display type, and one picture. 2. One who does manual labor, especially one who is similar to Shakespeare's rude mechanicals. Example: Rude mechanicals must know their place in a horsey army. Example: Furthermore, when the play juxtaposes aristocratic violence with artisanal civility, it shows the artisans as the social group that better embodies civility, and the mocking accusations of bestial inferiority leveled at the mechanicals by the aristrocratic characters are revealed as a hollow discourse that attempts to bolster and naturalize established privilege. 3. A robot or mechanical creature. Example: Is it a mechanical, or a man in a clockwork suit? Example: Mechanicals arose when advanced, organic societies somehow committed suicide, from war, degeneration, unimaginable things -- or retreated, from plain simple lack of interest in the tensions of the technological life. 4. A mechanical engineer. Example: When the older courses had been separated from the literary curriculum eight years the civils, mechanicals and electricals had changed their relative positions four times. Example: A membership campaign was carried on early in the year and quite a number of the new mechanicals were reached, as well as a number of the old men who had slipped by the wayside. 5. An instance of equipment failure. Example: The pack are suffering mechanicals and pull up under a lamp post marking a right turn. Example: Equipment back then was less capable than it is today, and we often had to deal with mechanical failures, also called mechanicals and the odd injury which we called 'bio-mechanicals'. 6. A stop on an organ that is operated by a hand or foot control rather than having to be manually set up in advance. Example: On the other hand I heard only recently of a modern marvel — an organ of two manuals and about sixteen or eighteen stops with adequate and modern mechanicals that the pastor assures me has not been touched by repairer or even by tuner in four years! Example: Some would like the smallest number of foot mechanicals and the greatest number of hand mechanicals; some would like to do away with the crescendo pedal; some would prefer less diapason foundation; others would want a predominance of salty reeds ; 7. A machine that performs a job typically accomplished using an animal or manual labor. Labels: archaic Example: Roland jumped on the horse and with herculean strength picked her up one armed and plopped her down in front of him. “I've had my fill of mechanicals of late. Hold on.” Example: Above all things, I liked to hear about horseless carriages and self-powered mechanicals, but I'd settle for ghosts at a pinch.