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Hero of Alexandria, 1st century AD
Before machines became motors, engines and computers, the word already meant something broader:
an ingenious means by which something becomes possible.
Greek μηχανή — mēkhanē: instrument, device, contrivance, means.
Latin machina: machine, engine, apparatus, contrivance.
Middle French machine → English machine.
The semantic field is older and broader than today's image of gears, motors and electronics.
In Greek theatre, a mēkhanē could be the stage apparatus that lifted a god into view.
Hence: deus ex machina — the god from the machine.
human construction → superhuman appearance
The machine makes visible powers that exceed the ordinary human body.
The machine begins not only with matter, but with know-how.
Greek technē means skilled, rule-governed making.
thought → technē → artifact
Before artificial agency comes the intelligence of the maker.