biomechanismn.
/ˌbʌɪə(ʊ)ˈmɛkənɪz(ə)m/, /ˌbʌɪə(ʊ)ˈmɛkn̩ɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˌbaɪəˈmɛkəˌnɪzəm/ 1.
a. An organism or part of an organism conceptualized as a machine. Also: a machine with properties analogous to those of a living being. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1919 Interstate Med. Jrnl. 26 205 The point of view we take here of the human organism is a biomechanistic one, approaching it from the standpoint of the body as a biomechanism, a vitalised, highly differentiated working unit compounded of body and spirit [etc.]
1932 Amer. Naturalist 66 59 The biomechanism of the titanothere and of the elephant is due to a complex of energetic factors which is entirely beyond our present comprehension.
1963 Jrnl. Prosthetic Dentistry 13 130 The chewing organ is a precise biomechanism.
2001 A. Herrmann & A. J. Stewart Theorizing Feminism xix. 422 The ‘Star Child’ of 2001 is not a living organic being but ‘a biomechanism,..a cyborg capable of living unaided in space’.
b. The ordered sequence or pattern of interdependent events involved in a biological or biochemical process.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > study of body > [noun] > biomechanics
animal mechanics1766
biomechanism1926
biomechanics1939
1926 Q. Cumulative Index Current Med. Lit. 12 597/2 Biomechanism and pathology of ectopic pregnancy.
1979 M. F. Grundon in R. H. F. Manske & R. Rodrigo Alkaloids XVII. ii. 186 Studies of the biomechanism of the transformation of platydesmine into furoquinoline alkaloids were carried out with Choisya ternata.
2007 Drug Discov. Today 4 193/1 It is therefore not surprising that the biomechanisms underlying cardiac hypertrophy are the most widely studied of all the mechanisms that contribute to LV [=left ventricle] remodeling in response to MI [=myocardial infarction].
2. Theatre. = biomechanics n. 2; (also) a theatrical production adopting the techniques of biomechanics. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > [noun] > types of
constructivism1924
formalism1927
biomechanism1928
space staging1937
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > [noun] > specific technique
method1923
biomechanics1924
biomechanism1928
pixilation1947
impro1979
1928 C. P. Gurley Radicalism in 20th Cent. Theatre (M.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin–Madison) 6 If the theatre was to serve the working group it must be expressed in their language–—hence constructivism and bio-mechanism.
1930 P. England tr. R. Fülöp-Miller & J. Gregor Russ. Theatre 68 The classical example of bio-mechanism is the comedy The Magnificent Cuckold. In this the movements of the performers were so standardized that they seemed to obey some geometric law.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1919