A machine manages power to accomplish a task. Examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work. A simple machine is a device that transforms the direction or magnitude of a force.
The word "machine" is derived from the Latin word machina,[1] which in turn derives from the Doric Greekμαχανά (machana), Ionic Greekμηχανή (mechane) "contrivance, machine, engine"[2] and that from μῆχος (mechos), "means, expedient, remedy".[3]
The meaning of machine is traced by the Oxford English Dictionary[4] to an independently functioning structure and by Merriam-Webster Dictionary[5] to something that has been constructed. This includes human design into the meaning of machine.
Historically, a device required moving parts to classify as a machine; however, the advent of electronics technology has led to the development of devices without moving parts that many refer to as machines, such as a computer, radio, and television.[1]