automaton
au.tom.a.ton \o.-'ta:m-*t-*n, -*-.ta:n\ \-*t-*\ n or automatons or au.tom.a.ta [L, fr. Gk, neut. of automatos] pl 1: a mechanism that is relatively self-operating; esp : ROBOT 2: a machine or control mechanism designed to follow automatically a predet ermined sequence of operations or respond to encoded instructions 3: a creature who acts in a mechanical fashion