Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mechanism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Mechanism \Mech"an*ism\, n. [Cf. F. m['e]canisme, L. mechanisma.
See {Mechanic}.]
1. The arrangement or relation of the parts of a machine; the
parts of a machine, taken collectively; the arrangement or
relation of the parts of anything as adapted to produce an
effect; as, the mechanism of a watch; the mechanism of a
sewing machine; the mechanism of a seed pod.
2. Mechanical operation or action.
He acknowledges nothing besides matter and motion;
so that all must be performed either by mechanism or
accident. --Bentley.
3. (Kinematics) An ideal machine; a combination of movable
bodies constituting a machine, but considered only with
regard to relative movements.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
mechanism
n 1: the atomic process that occurs during a chemical reaction;
"he determined unique mechanisms for the photochemical
reactions" [syn: {chemical mechanism}]
2: technical aspects of doing something; "mechanisms of
communication"; "the mechanics of prose style" [syn: {mechanics}]
3: a natural object resembling a machine in structure and
function; "the mechanism of the ear"
4: the doctrine that all phenomena can be explained in terms of
physical or biological causes
5: device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts
that perform some function
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