Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mechanical"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Mechanical \Me*chan"ic*al\, a. [From {Mechanic}, a.]
1. Pertaining to, governed by, or in accordance with,
mechanics, or the laws of motion; pertaining to the
quantitative relations of force and matter, as
distinguished from mental, vital, chemical, etc.; as,
mechanical principles; a mechanical theory; mechanical
deposits.

2. Of or pertaining to a machine or to machinery or tools;
made or formed by a machine or with tools; as, mechanical
precision; mechanical products.

We have also divers mechanical arts. --Bacon.

3. Done as if by a machine; uninfluenced by will or emotion;
proceeding automatically, or by habit, without special
intention or reflection; as, mechanical singing;
mechanical verses; mechanical service.

4. Made and operated by interaction of forces without a
directing intelligence; as, a mechanical universe.

5. Obtained by trial, by measurements, etc.; approximate;
empirical. See the 2d Note under {Geometric}.

{Mechanical effect}, effective power; useful work exerted, as
by a machine, in a definite time.

{Mechanical engineering}. See the Note under {Engineering}.


{Mechanical maneuvers} (Mil.), the application of mechanical
appliances to the mounting, dismounting, and moving of
artillery. --Farrow.

{Mechanical philosophy}, the principles of mechanics applied
to the inverstigation of physical phenomena.

{Mechanical powers}, certain simple instruments, such as the
lever and its modifications (the wheel and axle and the
pulley), the inclined plane with its modifications (the
screw and the wedge), which convert a small force acting
through a great space into a great force acting through a
small space, or vice versa, and are used separately or in
combination.

{Mechanical solution} (Math.), a solution of a problem by any
art or contrivance not strictly geometrical, as by means
of the ruler and compasses, or other instruments.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Mechanical \Me*chan"ic*al\, n.
A mechanic. [Obs.] --Shak.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

mechanical
adj 1: using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices; "a
mechanical process"; "his smile was very mechanical";
"a mechanical toy" [ant: {nonmechanical}]
2: relating to or concerned with machinery or tools;
"mechanical arts"; "mechanical design"; "mechanical
skills" [syn: {mechanically skillful}]
3: relating to or governed by or in accordance with mechanics;
"a belief that the universe is a mechanical contrivance";
"the mechanical pressure of a strong wind"
4: lacking thought or feeling


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