Mechanism

How to spell mechanism

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce mechanism

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mechanism mean?

1. nounA system of parts working together in a machine, or a process by which something is brought about.

Mechanism in a sentence

• The locking mechanism on the door had jammed overnight.

• The new policy creates a clear mechanism for resolving disputes.

Where does mechanism come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek mēkhanē, which meant a device, a contrivance, or a clever means of doing something, and which also gave us the word machine. The Greeks used mēkhanē both for practical engines and, in the theatre, for the crane that lowered a god onto the stage, the famous deus ex machina. The Latins borrowed it as machina, and from the related adjective came the idea of things mechanical. By the seventeenth century, scholars writing about physics and engineering coined mechanism by attaching the suffix -ism to describe the working arrangement of parts in a machine. From that concrete sense it broadened to mean any structured process by which something is achieved, such as a defence mechanism or a voting mechanism. The h after the c, inherited from the Greek spelling, is the small detail that catches writers out.

How the word is built

• mechan- (from Greek mēkhanē: machine, contrivance)
• -ism (noun suffix denoting a system or process)