droid
UK[drɔɪd]US[drɔɪd]
n
a robot, especially one in science fiction that resembles a human.
n
(informal) a person who behaves in a mechanical or unemotional way.
Etymology
the term "droid" is a modern english clipping of the word "android," which itself originates from the late latin "androides," derived from greek "andr-" (meaning "man, male") and "-eides" (meaning "form, shape"). the clipped form "droid" was popularized by the 1977 film "star wars," where it referred to various robotic characters. this truncation follows a common pattern in english where longer words are shortened for convenience or stylistic effect, especially in science fiction and technology contexts.
Analysis
the word is a clipped form of "android". it is not further segmented into meaningful morphemes in its current spelling.
Examples
the droid efficiently carried out its programmed maintenance tasks on the starship.
in the movie, the protagonist is accompanied by a loyal, talkative droid.
after working on the assembly line for ten years, he felt like a mindless droid.