autoboating
|au-to-boat-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˈɔːtoʊ.boʊtɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔːtəʊ.bəʊtɪŋ/
(autoboat)
automatic, unattended operation
Etymology
'autoboating' originates from modern English, formed by combining the prefix 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self') with the base 'boat'/'to boat' and the gerundive suffix '-ing', where 'auto-' conveyed 'self' or 'automatic'.
'auto-' comes from Greek 'autos' and entered English as a productive combining form in the 19th century; 'boat' comes from Old English 'bāt' (Proto-Germanic *baitaz). The compound 'autoboat' is a recent coinage (20th–21st century) in technical and hobby contexts and 'autoboating' developed as a gerund/participle in online/gaming usage.
Initially the parts meant 'self' (auto-) and 'boat' (a vessel), but in contemporary usage the compound has shifted metaphorically to mean 'automatic operation' (especially automated gameplay or bot-driven activity) rather than anything to do with a physical boat.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the practice or act of setting something to run automatically (especially in online games), i.e., leaving a character or system to perform tasks without direct supervision.
Autoboating is against the server rules in many communities because it gives unfair advantages.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Verb 1
to run or set a character, account, or process to operate automatically (often using in-game/autoplay features or scripts) so it performs actions without the player's active input.
Some players were autoboating overnight to farm resources while they were offline.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/23 23:06