bot
UK[bɒt]US[bɑːt]
n
A computer program that performs automated, repetitive, or predefined tasks, especially over the internet.
n
Short for robot, especially a software agent.
Etymology
The word "bot" is a modern linguistic shortening of "robot", a term that entered English in the early 20th century from Czech. "Robot" itself was derived from the Czech "robota", meaning "forced labor" or "serfdom", a term with Slavic roots. This evolution reflects a conceptual shift from a physical, humanoid machine performing labor to a purely digital agent executing automated tasks. The clipped form "bot" emerged with the rise of computing and the internet, streamlining the term for software programs that operate autonomously.
Analysis
The word is a clipping of the word "robot". It is a loanword from Czech, where "robot" was coined by Karel Čapek's brother Josef from the Slavic root "robota", meaning "forced labor" or "drudgery".
Examples
The customer service chat was handled entirely by an AI bot.
Social media platforms work to detect and remove spam bots.
He programmed a simple bot to collect data from the website.