Au·to·mat·ic Au·to·mat·ic·al a.
 1. Having an inherent power of action or motion.
    Nothing can be said to be automatic.   --Sir H. Davy.
 2. 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.
 Note: Narrower terms are: autoloading(prenominal), semiautomatic; automated, machine-controlled, machine-driven; self-acting, self-activating, self-moving, self-regulating; self-locking; self-winding. Also See: mechanical.
 3. Physiol. Not voluntary; not depending on the will; mechanical; controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control; as, automatic movements or functions.  The opposite of voluntary.
 Syn: -- reflex(prenominal), reflexive,involuntary
    Unconscious or automatic reasoning.   --H. Spenser.
 Automatic arts, such economic arts or manufacture as are carried on by self-acting machinery.

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