servomechanismn.
/ˈsəːvəʊˌmɛkənɪz(ə)m/, /ˈsəːvəʊˌmɛkn̩ɪz(ə)m/, /ˌsəːvəʊˈmɛkənɪz(ə)m/, /ˌsəːvəʊˈmɛkn̩ɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˈsərvoʊˌmɛkəˌnɪzəm/, /ˌsərvoʊˈmɛkəˌnɪzəm/ a. Originally: a mechanism which transmits and magnifies motion or pressure; spec. an air brake in a motor vehicle. In later use: a powered mechanism which produces precise and controlled motion by means of a feedback loop.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > mechanism > [noun] > servo-mechanism
servo1909
servomechanism1920
servo system1920
servo control1939
1920 Times 11 Nov. 18/2 A compressed air plant..is made use of in working the horn, the jacks..and the brakes... The last feature is to be described as a servo-mechanism.
1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Apr. 245/2 All self-regulating machines are servo-mechanisms, in which one part of the machine regulates the operation of the other.
1973 Sci. Amer. Nov. 129/1 Our seismographs and tiltmeters operate in tunnels several hundred feet underground and are provided with servomechanisms that automatically compensate for temperature changes.
2014 J. Ellenberg How not to be Wrong 13 The actual wall-breaking force is being supplied, not by Tony Stark's muscles, but by a series of exquisitely synchronized servomechanisms powered by a compact beta particle generator.
b. A non-mechanical system, process, institution, etc., that regulates an activity or is characterized by self-regulating feedback.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > mechanism for self-regulation > [noun]
regulation1898
servo1953
servomechanism1953
1953 J. S. Huxley Evol. in Action ii. 46 Natural selection..provided a genetic servo-mechanism to regulate the mutant back towards normality in its effects.
1976 New Yorker 15 Nov. 157/1 Their basic assumption is that speech can best be understood as the output of a servomechanism.
2008 Internat. Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 37 22 The central bank..must also act as the economy's servo-mechanism in the absence..of real balance effects.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1920