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Added 4 October 2026

machine

/məˈʃiːn/ noun

In Latin: māchina Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about machine at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
A vehicle operated mechanically, such as an automobile or an airplane.
An answering machine or, by extension, voice mail.
I called you earlier, but all I got was the machine.

verb

To make by machinery.
To shape or finish by machinery; to shape subtractively by metal-cutting with machine-controlled toolpaths.

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French machine, from Latin māchina (“a machine, engine, contrivance, device, stratagem, trick”), from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ (mākhănā́), cognate with Attic Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ, “a machine, engine, contrivance, device”), from which comes mechanical. Displaced native Old English searu.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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