mechanic
nounEtymology From Middle English mekanyk (“mechanical”), from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus (“of or belonging to machines or mechanics, inventive”), from Ancient Greek μηχανικός (mēkhanikós, “pertaining to machines or contrivance, mechanic, ingenious, inventive”), from μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “a machine, contrivance”); see machine.
1
Historical A manual worker; a labourer or artisan.
- His noble earnestness, his fidelity, his gallant shielding of her, his generous conquest of his own wrong and his own pride for her sake, are simply honourable, manly, and true. Nothing less worthy can be seen through the lustre of such qualities in the commonest mechanic, nothing less worthy can be seen in the best-born gentleman.1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
- The lower orders were freer than they had ever been – free […] to choose their own lay preachers, mechanics like the rest of the congregation.1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 77:
2
Someone who builds or repairs machinery, a technician; now specifically, someone who works with and repairs the mechanical parts of a motor vehicle, aircraft or similar.
3
A device, method or means; a function.
4
Video games A function, rule or other implementation that dictates gameplay; a ludeme, a feature.
- This game has a mechanic where if you run toward a ledge you automatically jump off rather than just falling.
5
Slang A hitman.
- And from then on, his bag was silence. Silence and killing. Overnight he became the best grunt we had, a real killer, a mechanic.1976, Newton Thornburg, Cutter and Bone, Little, Brown, →ISBN, page 250:
- I can do other things beside burglarizing. I'm a first-class crap dealer, I'm a pretty good card mechanic, pretty good dice mechanic.1969, Bruce Jackson, A Thief's Primer, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 91:
- It was so obvious. I mean, all of Nicky's half-assed mechanics, they were real signal happy.1995, Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese, Casino, spoken by Ace (Robert De Niro):
- Derived terms
- aeromechanic, auto mechanic, card mechanic, chancre mechanic, dice mechanic, mechanic arts, Mechanic Falls, Mechanicsburg, mechanic's grip, mechanic's lien, Mechanicville, shade tree mechanic
- Related terms
- mechanical, mechanically, mechanics, mechanism, mechanistic, mechanization, mechanize