English
machine
Machine is borrowed from Middle French machine, from Latin māchina ‘contrivance, device’, from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́.
- Doric Greekmodernμᾱχᾰνᾱ́mākhănā́‘machine, contrivance (Doric)’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmāchina‘a machine, contrivance’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600machine‘machine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1712same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Doric Greekmodernμᾱχᾰνᾱ́mākhănā́‘machine, contrivance (Doric)’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmāchina‘a machine, contrivance’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600machine‘machine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1712same form
Earliest quotation: 1712, SUNDAY, April 21, 1712: “I am apt to think, that the changing of…”
Every English word from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́
Today it means
noun A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ / machine