robot - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From German Robot, from a West Slavic language, ultimately related to Etymology 2, below.

robot (uncountable)

  1. (now historical) A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour. [from 19th c.]
    • 1849, Littell's Living Age, volume 23, page 309:
      “I say again, down with the robot!—he is a dog who yields it!”
    • 2007, Tim Blanning, The Pursuit of Glory, Penguin, published 2008, page 159:
      Although the robot varied from region to region, it was rarely less than burdensome.

An industrial robot (etymology 2 sense 2) engraving on a metal plate

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”). Coined in the 1920 science-fiction play R.U.R. by Karel Čapek after having been suggested to him by his brother Josef.[1]

Ultimately a cognate with Old English earfoþe and German Arbeit; see dialectal erf. Doublet of etymology 1. Related to English orphan, but with a -t- suffix from Proto-Slavic instead of the -an- from Ancient Greek.

Compare Polish robotnik and Russian работник (rabotnik, “worker”), sometimes mistakenly cited as the direct source of the English word.

robot (plural robots)

  1. (chiefly science fiction) An intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal. [from 20th c.]
    • c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act I, page 17:
      Young Rossum invented a worker with a minimum amount of requirements. He had to simplify him. He rejected everything that did not contribute directly to the progress of work—everything that makes man more expensive. In fact, he rejected man and made the Robot. My dear Miss Glory, the Robots are not people. Mechanically they are more perfect than we are, they have an enormously developed intelligence, but they have no soul.
    • 2010 January 26, Tom Chivers, Iain McDiarmid, The Telegraph:
      The robots in Dick's novel, loosely adapted by Ridley Scott into the film Blade Runner, were so similar to humans that when they went rogue, trained bounty hunters were called in to perform psychological tests to see whether suspected androids lacked human empathy.
  2. A machine built to carry out some complex task or group of tasks by physically moving, especially one which can be programmed. [from 20th c.]
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:robot
    Hypernym: automaton
    Hyponym: android
    We have a robot in the house that does the vacuuming.
    • 2010 May 16, Tim Webb, “BP fights to stop the Gulf of Mexico spill – and salvage its reputation”, in The Guardian‎[2], archived from the original on 9 June 2021:
      It's painfully slow and complex work which has never been attempted before in these conditions: the small box-shaped robots, equipped with two claws, are operating in almost freezing water 5,000ft below the surface, in pitch black and strong currents.
    • 2025 March 25, John Liu, “Elon Musk thinks robots are a $10 trillion business. He’s got some competition from China”, in CNN Business‎[3], archived from the original on 31 July 2025:
      Compared to humanoids, industrial robots typically feature less advanced technology and perform less sophisticated tasks. They’re widely used in industrial settings for manufacturing or transportation. […] About 56% of the humanoid robot supply chain companies are based in China, according to a Morgan Stanley research report last month.
  3. (computing) A bot, software designed to perform a task.
    • 2025 July 2, Lisa Bonos, Danielle Abril, “No one likes meetings. They’re sending their AI note takers instead.”, in The Washington Post‎[4], →ISSN, archived from the original on 2 July 2025:
      Clifton Sellers attended a Zoom meeting last month where robots outnumbered humans.
  4. (figuratively) A person who does not seem to have any emotions or individuality. [from 20th c.]
    • 1973 December 22, Satya, “It Is Not We Who Must Change”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 27, page 3:
      Straight society tries to change us by several means. Most of the time, it is mental torture, though physical abuse is not uncommon. We are programmed to be straight starting from the day we are born, and every action, word, and feeling must conform to the straight image. If we DO decide to be free rather than to be robots, here are some of the consequences.
    • 2006, Murray N. Rothbard, Making Economic Sense, page xiv:
      Yet surely he was a humorless robot of a man, spewing forth lonely and bitter critiques of all those lesser mortals with whom he could not identify.
  5. (South Africa) A traffic light (from earlier robot policeman). [from 20th c.]
  6. (surveying) A theodolite which follows the movements of a prism and can be used by a one-man crew.
  7. (dance, preceded by definite article) A style of dance popular in disco in which the dancer imitates the stiff movements of a stereotypical android robot.

intelligent mechanical being

machine to perform complex tasks

Translations to be checked

Referencing the origin of the name of the 4chan imageboard /r9k/ (created in 2008), so-called because it implements the ROBOT9000 algorithm by Randall Munroe to prevent the reposting of content.

Possibly overlapping with the sense of robot (“a person who does not seem to have any emotions”), alluding to autism, due to the prevalence of personal stories describing awkward or embarrassing situations on the board.

robot (plural robots)

  1. (Internet slang, 4chan slang) A habitual poster on the /r9k/ board on 4chan; a member of the /r9k/ community.
    • 2015 October 1, David Kravets, “Ominous messages left on 4chan day before Oregon college killings [Updated]”, in Ars Technica‎[5], archived from the original on 6 December 2022:
      One anonymous message addressed to "fellow robots" hoped readers would have "an enjoyable Elliot Rodger day"—a reference to the shooter who killed six near a Santa Barbara university last year.
    • 2015 October 3, Jay Hathaway, “How 4chan Trolled Two of Its Friends by Framing Them for the Oregon Mass Shooting”, in Gawker‎[6], archived from the original on 20 November 2022:
      Posters on the board are locked in an ongoing debate about who can be one of them— a "robot." Can white guys be robots, despite their privilege? Can black guys? Women love them! It goes on and on. Only one rule really seems to be agreed upon: "If you have no friends and no gf you are a robot."
    • 2015 October 5, Justin Wm. Moyer, anonymous quotee, “Philadelphia colleges on alert after 4chan post threatens violence Monday”, in The Washington Post‎[7], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 June 2016:
      It continued: "On October 5, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. CT, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the Union will decay a little more."
  1. ^ Adams, Caralee (24 March 2021), “Major SciFi Discovery Hiding in Plain Sight at the Internet Archive”, in Internet Archive Blogs‎[1], Internet Archive

Borrowed from English robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot (plural robotte)

  1. robot
  2. traffic light
    • 1997, Riana Scheepers, Dogters van Afrika. Verhale oor Suid-Afrikaanse Vroue, Tafelberg (publ.).
      As die robotte na groen oorslaan, brul hulle en storm vorentoe.
      When the traffic lights switch to green, they roar and storm forward.

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot anim

  1. robot

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (plural robots)

  1. robot

From English robot, from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”). Coined in the 1921 science-fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek after having been suggested to him by his brother Josef.

robot

  1. a machine built to carry out some complex task or group of tasks by physically moving, especially one which can be programmed
  2. an intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal
  3. (figuratively) a person who does not seem to have any emotions
  4. a style of dance popular in disco whereby the dancer impersonates the movement of a robot

From robota. Coined by Czech painter and writer Josef Čapek, it first appeared in the 1921 science-fiction play R.U.R. by his brother Karel Čapek.

robot m anim

  1. robot (in humanoid form)
    • 1902, Karel Čapek, R.U.R.: Rossum's universal robots: kolektivní drama v vstupní komedii a třech aktech, page 13; English translation from Paul Selver, transl., R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots): A Play in Three Acts and an Epilogue, 1923, page 13:
      Drahá slečno Gloryová, Roboti nejsou lidé. Jsou mechanicky dokonalejší než my, mají úžasnou rozumovou inteligenci, ale nemají duši. Viděla jste už někdy, jak vypadá Robot uvnitř?
      My dear Miss Glory, the Robots are not people. Mechanically they are more perfect than we are, they have an enormously developed intelligence, but they have no soul. Have you ever seen what a Robot looks like inside?

robot m anim or m inan

  1. robot (in non-humanoid form)

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot c (singular definite robotten, plural indefinite robotter)

  1. robot

Borrowed, likely from German Robot, from Czech robot. The plural is likely influenced by English or French.

robot m (plural robots or robotten, diminutive robotje n)

  1. robot [from 1921]
    Synonym: kunstmens

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (plural robots)

  1. robot
    Je ne suis pas un robot. ― I am not a robot.

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (plural robots)

  1. robot

From Bavarian robat, robold, from Czech robota (“forced labour, drudgery”).

robot (plural robotok)

  1. (historical) socage, forced labour
  2. (figuratively) hard work, drudgery

From Czech robot, from robota (“forced labour, drudgery”). Coined in the 1921 science-fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek.

robot (plural robotok)

  1. robot

Borrowed from English robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot (plural **robot-robot)

  1. robot

Borrowed from French robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (invariable, diminutive robottìno)

  1. robot
    Synonyms: androide, automa
  2. (computing, video games) bot
    Synonyms: bot, CPU, computer

The French-inspired, possibly hyperforeign pronunciation /roˈbo/ might be falling out with the younger generations, which see it as an old-fashioned pronunciation and prefer the second one (/ˈrɔ.bot/) instead. Additionally, the first pronunciation is also deliberately spelled robò.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 robot in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

robot (plural **robot dem, quantified **robot)

  1. (slang) illegal taxi
    Mi n'ave nuh big money fi spen' pon taxi. See one robot a come deh. Mek wi tek it.
    I don't have a lot of money to spend on a cab. Here's an illegal taxi. Let's take that.
    • 2013, “Robot – Patois Definition”, in Jamaican Patwah‎[8] (in English):
      “Slang expression for a vehicle that is operating as a taxi without the proper license that is required. […] ”

robot (transitive, 2nd conjugation, present ****roboju, robo, robo**, past ****roboju**)

  1. to notch
  2. to jag
  3. to make an incision (on)

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (definite singular roboten, indefinite plural roboter, definite plural robotene)

  1. robot

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (definite singular roboten, indefinite plural robotar, definite plural robotane)

  1. robot

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m animal or m inan (female equivalent (rare) robotka, diminutive robocik)

  1. robot

Unadapted borrowing from French robot.

robot m (plural robots)

  1. (rare) alternative spelling of robô

Borrowed from French robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (plural roboți)

  1. robot

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

rȍbot m inan (Cyrillic spelling ро̏бот)

  1. robot

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robọ̑t m anim

  1. robot
Masculine anim., hard o-stem
nom. sing. robót
gen. sing. robóta
singular dual plural
nominative(imenovȃlnik) robót robóta robóti
genitive(rodȋlnik) robóta robótov robótov
dative(dajȃlnik) robótu robótoma robótom
accusative(tožȋlnik) robóta robóta robóte
locative(mẹ̑stnik) robótu robótih robótih
instrumental(orọ̑dnik) robótom robótoma robóti

Borrowed from English robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (plural robots)

  1. robot

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota. First attested in 1921. The weaponry sense attested since 1944.

robot c

  1. a robot (machine that carries out complex tasks)
  2. (weaponry) a missile, guided missile
    Synonym: missil
    Hypernym: robotvapen
    Hyponyms: kryssningsrobot, luftvärnsrobot, sjömålsrobot
    Holonym: robotsystem

(weaponry):

(robot):

(weaponry):

Borrowed from English robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜓᜊᜓᜆ᜔)

  1. robot

Borrowed from French robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot (definite accusative robotu, plural robotlar)

  1. robot [from 1933]
  2. ellipsis of mutfak robotu (“food processor”)

Borrowed from English robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot

  1. robot

Borrowed from English robot, borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”), from Old Czech robota, from Proto-Slavic *orbota, from *orbiti + *-ota.

robot m (plural robotiaid or robotau, not mutable)

  1. robot

The plural form robotiaid is preferred for humanoid robots or androids whereas the plural form robotau designates machines.