From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Mechanical \Me*chan"ic*al\, a. [From {Mechanic}, a.]
[1913 Webster]
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;
especially, using only the interactions of solid parts
against each other; as mechanical brakes, in contrast to
{hydraulic} brakes.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
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.
[1913 Webster]
We have also divers mechanical arts. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
4. Made and operated by interaction of forces without a
directing intelligence; as, a mechanical universe.
[1913 Webster]
5. Obtained by trial, by measurements, etc.; approximate;
empirical. See the 2d Note under {Geometric}.
[1913 Webster]
{Mechanical effect}, effective power; useful work exerted, as
by a machine, in a definite time.
{Mechanical engineering}. See the Note under {Engineering}.
{Mechanical maneuvers} (Mil.), 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} (Math.), a solution of a problem by any
art or contrivance not strictly geometrical, as by means
of the ruler and compasses, or other instruments.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Engineering \En`gi*neer"ing\, n.
Originally, the art of managing engines; in its modern and
extended sense, the art and science by which the properties
of matter are made useful to man, whether in structures,
machines, chemical substances, or living organisms; the
occupation and work of an engineer. In the modern sense, the
application of mathematics or systematic knowledge beyond the
routine skills of practise, for the design of any complex
system which performs useful functions, may be considered as
engineering, including such abstract tasks as designing
software ({software engineering}).
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Note: In a comprehensive sense, engineering includes
architecture as a mechanical art, in distinction from
architecture as a fine art. It was formerly divided
into military engineering, which is the art of
designing and constructing offensive and defensive
works, and civil engineering, in a broad sense, as
relating to other kinds of public works, machinery,
etc.
{Civil engineering}, in modern usage, is strictly the art of
planning, laying out, and constructing fixed public works,
such as railroads, highways, canals, aqueducts, water
works, bridges, lighthouses, docks, embankments,
breakwaters, dams, tunnels, etc.
{Mechanical engineering} relates to machinery, such as steam
engines, machine tools, mill work, etc.
{Mining engineering} deals with the excavation and working of
mines, and the extraction of metals from their ores, etc.
Engineering is further divided into steam engineering, gas
engineering, agricultural engineering, topographical
engineering, electrical engineering, etc.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
mechanical engineering
n 1: the branch of engineering that deals with the design and
construction and operation of machinery
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