Newsgroups: sci.lang
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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: Robots
Message-ID: <D50GAq.5nH@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <D4xt5t.GDC@indirect.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 08:44:49 GMT
Lines: 21

Not that this kind of thing really belongs here (alt.usage.english
would've been more appropriate).  But.

In article <D4xt5t.GDC@indirect.com> stevemac@bud.indirect.com (Pascal MacProgrammer) writes:
>[_robot_] was coined by Karel Capek [inverted circumflex over the "C"]
>in a play that he wrote, called "R.U.R." (which stood for "Rossum's
>Universal Robots").  He no doubt based it on a word in his native
>language (Czech, I believe), for "worker" [...]

Actually, the story goes that the word was coined by his brother.
KC was telling him about his work on the play and was complaining
that he couldn't think of a good name for the universal creatures
in question.  His best attempt had been _labor_ (from Latin), but
he wasn't quite satisfied with it.  His brother suggested _robot_
(from Czech), KC liked it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

-- 
`"Na, na ... ah mean, *no wey*, wi aw due respect, ma lady," stammers Joe.'
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk)    (J Stuart, _Auld Testament Tales_)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
