Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mechanic” come from?

Mechanic comes from Middle English mechanike, from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus, from Ancient Greek μηχανικός, formed from the root μηχανή meaning "machine" and the suffix -ικός.

mechanic (English): mechanical; relating to the laws of motion in the...

Definitions

  1. mechanical; relating to the laws of motion in the...

Ancestry of “mechanic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmechanikemechanic art
2Old Frenchmecanique—
3Latinmēchanicus—
4Ancient Greekμηχανικόςingenious, resourceful; of or pertaining to...
5Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
6Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “mechanic”

  • biomechanic
  • aeromechanic
  • telemechanic
  • mech
  • mecha
  • mechaphilia
  • меха
  • メカニック
  • メカ
  • mekanik
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →