sb. and a. Obs. [a. F. automate (Cotgr.), ad. L. automaton, -um.]
A. sb. = AUTOMATON.
a. 1649. Drumm. of Hawth., James III., Wks. 61. Taken with admiration of watches, clocks, dials, automates.
a. 1751. Bolingbroke, Hum. Knowl., i. (R.). We pronounce our fellow animals to be automates, or we allow them instinct.
B. adj. [Cf. F. automate, adj.] = AUTOMATIC.
1818. Southey, in Q. Rev., XIX. 18. His scheme of a Royal Garden comprehended … artificial echos, automate and hydraulic music.
