Pertaining to, or produced by, an automaton; of the nature of an automaton; self-acting or self-regulating under fixed conditions; operating with minimal human intervention; -- esp. applied to machinery or devices in which certain things formerly or usually done by hand are done by the machine or device itself;
as, the automatic feed of a lathe; automatic gas lighting; an automatic engine or switch; an automatic mouse; an automatic transmission. The opposite of
manual.
"Narrower terms are: autoloading(prenominal), semiautomatic ; automated, machine-controlled, machine-driven ; self-acting, self-activating, self-moving, self-regulating ; self-locking ; self-winding ."
[1913 Webster]