Mechanical
Mechanical , adjective
[From Mechanic, a.]
1.
Pertaining to, governed by, or in accordance with, mechanics, or the laws of motion; pertaining to the quantitative relations of force and matter on a macroscopic scale, as distinguished from mental, vital, chemical, electrical, electronic, atomic etc.; as, mechanical principles; a mechanical theory;
using only the interactions of solid parts against each other; as mechanical brakes, in contrast to hydraulic brakes.
2.
Of or pertaining to a machine or to machinery or tools; made or formed by a machine or with tools; as, mechanical precision; mechanical products.
We have also divers mechanical arts.
3.
Done as if by a machine; uninfluenced by will or emotion; proceeding automatically, or by habit, without special intention or reflection; as, mechanical singing; mechanical verses; mechanical service.
4.
Made and operated by interaction of forces without a directing intelligence; as, a mechanical universe.
5.
Obtained by trial, by measurements, etc.; approximate; empirical. See the 2d Note under Geometric.
Collocations (6)
Mechanical effect , effective power; useful work exerted, as by a machine, in a definite time.
Mechanical engineering , See the Note under Engineering.
Mechanical maneuvers (Military) , the application of mechanical appliances to the mounting, dismounting, and moving of artillery. — Farrow
Mechanical philosophy , the principles of mechanics applied to the investigation of physical phenomena.
Mechanical powers , certain simple instruments, such as the lever and its modifications (the wheel and axle and the pulley), the inclined plane with its modifications (the screw and the wedge), which convert a small force acting through a great space into a great force acting through a small space, or vice versa, and are used separately or in combination.
Mechanical solution (Mathematics) , a solution of a problem by any art or contrivance not strictly geometrical, as by means of the ruler and compasses, or other instruments.
Mechanical , noun
A mechanic. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare