automat

C2+ Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈɔtəˌmæt/ UK /ˈɔːtəˌmæt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a restaurant where food is served from coin-operated machines

He fed nickels into the automat for a slice of pie.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a restaurant where food is... cafeteria diner

Word family

Related forms automatic automaton automate

Etymology

Borrowed from German Automat ('automatic machine, vending machine'), from Ancient Greek automatos ('self-acting'), from autos ('self') + a derivative of the root men- ('to think, be moved').

automatos Ancient Greek autos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# automat

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔtəˌmæt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːtəˌmæt/

## Meanings
1. a restaurant where food is served from coin-operated machines

## Examples
- He fed nickels into the automat for a slice of pie.

## Synonyms
- cafeteria
- diner

## Related Forms
- automatic
- automaton
- automate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: automatos
- Root: autos

## Etymology
Borrowed from German Automat ('automatic machine, vending machine'), from Ancient Greek automatos ('self-acting'), from autos ('self') + a derivative of the root men- ('to think, be moved').

## AI Etymology
automat was borrowed from German Automat ('automatic machine, vending machine'), from Ancient Greek automatos ('self-acting'), from autos ('self') + a derivative of the root men- ('to think, be moved'). Morphologically, the word is transparent as a compound: its parts remain visible in the modern spelling, while the older history of those parts supplies the deeper ancestry. In modern use, the noun sense is "a restaurant where food is served from coin-operated machines", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as automatic, automaton, automate, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Ancient Greek automatos, Ancient Greek autos, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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