automan
|au-to-man|
🇺🇸
/ˈɔːtoʊmæn/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔːtəʊmæn/
automated (self-operating) man
Etymology
'automan' originates from the combining form 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self') + English 'man' (Old English 'mann' meaning 'person, man').
'automan' is a modern compound coined in English in the 20th century by joining the prefix 'auto-' with 'man' to denote a self-operating or automated humanlike being; it was popularized as a proper name in the 1980s television series 'Automan'.
Initially formed to mean 'self-man' or 'self-operating person' in a literal, compound sense; over time it has been used mainly as a fictional name for computerized or robotic humanlike characters.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a proper-noun: the title and main character of Automan, a 1980s American TV series about a computer-generated superhero (fictional character).
Fans still remember scenes where the automan appears as a glowing, computer-generated crimefighter.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a rare or coined common noun meaning an automated or self-operating humanlike figure — essentially a humanoid robot or synthetic person (used mainly in fiction or informal coinage).
In the novel, the laboratory created an automan to perform dangerous tasks in place of humans.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/26 17:50