2 entries under this word
n. One who works with machines or instruments; a workman or laborer other than agricultural; an artisan; an artificer; more specifically, one who practices any mechanic art; one skilled or employed in shaping and uniting materials, as wood, metal, &c., into any kind of structure, machine, or other object, requiring the use of tools, or instruments.
Synonyms— Artificer; artisan; operative.
a. [Lat. mechanicus, Gr. μηχανικός, from μηχανή, a machine; Fr. mécanique, Pr. mechanic, Sp. & Pg. mecánico, It. meccanico. See MACHINE.]
Sense 1. Pertaining to, governed by, or in accordance with, mechanics, or the laws of motion; depending upon mechanism or machinery.
Sense 2. Hence, done as if by a machine, or without conscious exertion of will; proceeding from habit, not from intention or reflection; as, a mechanical action or movement.
Sense 3. Belonging or relating to those who live by hand-labor; of the artisan class.
*To make a god, a hero, or a king, Descend to a mechanic dialect.* Roscommon.
Sense 4. Hence, ill bred; low; vulgar. [Obs. and rare.]
Sense 5. Made by mechanical means, and not by chemical action; as, mechanical deposits.