machina
Theatrical crane mechanism
Machina is a Latin word meaning machine or device, encountered in English almost exclusively in the phrase deus ex machina (literally "god from the machine").
This refers to an unexpected power, event, or character that suddenly appears to solve an otherwise unsolvable problem in a story—named for the crane that lowered actors playing gods onto ancient Greek stages.
The term is usually pejorative, implying lazy or contrived storytelling: The sudden inheritance felt like a deus ex machina.
Toothed rotating machine parts
- cogsProjections on a wheel
- pulleysGrooved wheels for rope
- leversForce-multiplying pivot bars
- pistonsForce-transferring engine cylinders
crankshaft · camshaft · bearings · hydraulics · torque · sprockets · actuator · transmission
Programmable automated machine
- androidMachine resembling a person
- cyborgOrganic-mechanical hybrid entity
- automatonSelf-moving mechanical device
- golemAnimated clay servant
replicant · droid · humanoid · artificial intelligence · sentience · synthetic · bionic · animatronic
Storytelling element advancing action
- divine interventionGodly action in affairs
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- contrivanceClever invention or scheme
- craneLifter or wader
stagecraft · Greek theater · trapdoor · Euripides · climax · revelation
Industrial production facility
- assembly lineSequential workstation manufacturing
- conveyorMechanism that transports items
- automationSelf-operating system design
- mass productionLarge-scale standardized fabrication
manufacturing · fabrication · production · workforce · plant · workshop · industrialization · engineering
gears
Toothed rotating machine parts
pistons · crankshaft · camshaft · bearings · hydraulics · torque · sprockets · actuator · transmission · flywheel
robot
Programmable automated machine
- androidMachine resembling a person
- cyborgOrganic-mechanical hybrid entity
- automatonSelf-moving mechanical device
golem · replicant · droid · humanoid · artificial intelligence · sentience · synthetic · bionic · animatronic · autonomous
plot device
Storytelling element advancing action
- divine interventionGodly action in affairs
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- contrivanceClever invention or scheme
crane · stagecraft · Greek theater · trapdoor · Euripides · climax · revelation
factory
Industrial production facility
- assembly lineSequential workstation manufacturing
- conveyorMechanism that transports items
- automationSelf-operating system design
mass production · manufacturing · fabrication · production · workforce · plant · workshop · industrialization · engineering · output
machinanatural consequence
Unavoidable result of actions
logical conclusion · dramatic irony · Chekhov's gun · causal chain · poetic justice
machinacorpus
Assembled written works
life · organism · flesh · nature · living thing
machinahuman agency
Capacity for autonomous action
self-reliance · character development · free will · personal struggle · self-determination
- washing machineAppliance for laundering textiles
- time machineDevice enabling temporal journeys
- vending machineAutomated product dispenser
- machine gunContinuous-fire arm
- answering machineTelephone message recorder
- slot machineCoin-operated gambling device
machine, machinery, machination, machinations, machinate, machinator, machine-readable