remote controln.
/rᵻˌməʊt kənˈtrəʊl/, U.S. /rəˌmoʊt kənˈtroʊl/, /riˌmoʊt kənˈtroʊl/ 1. Control of people or institutions exercised at a distance (or occasionally, at a different time).In later use perhaps in part a figurative use of sense 2a.
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1794 in T. J. Howell Compl. Coll. State Trials (1818) XXIV. 1206 The people are to be considered..as constantly exerting the sovereign authority, and as having a perpetual control over the whole government of the country; not an indirect and remote control.
1838 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. 27 i. 311 The state of Peshawar..is under the remote control of the ruler of the Punjaub.
1876 J. Bascom Philos. Eng. Lit. iv. 81 Forces for the moment very efficient, frequently miss any direct mastery over later periods... Immediate and remote control turn on different principles.
1883 G. T. Ladd Doctr. Sacred Script. II. iii. iii. 110 We reach the two [writers] that stand decidedly pre-eminent in the period.., with respect both to their more immediate and also their more remote control over the doctrine of the Church.
1897 G. W. Rusden Hist. Austral. (ed. 2) II. xii. 310 The control of the convicts was claimed by the Colonial Office..; but remote control could hardly be successful.
1962 H. L. Packer Ex-communist Witnesses iii. 67 We have gone pretty far afield here to smear this man by remote control, instead of getting someone who heard him.
1970 J. Mathiex in J. S. Bromley New Cambr. Mod. Hist. VI. xvii. 557 The Spaniards themselves—merciless towards offenders..but otherwise content with remote control—allowed the local judicial and administrative organs to continue.
1997 Official Rep. Deb. (Council of Europe Parl. Assembly) I. 5/2 The way to Europe does not follow the course of electoral falsification, remote control of the media, and control of the justice system.
2.
a. Control of electrical or electronic equipment without the use of connecting wires.
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the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or control > [noun] > remote
remote control1903
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > types of machine generally > [noun] > automatic > controlled remotely
remote control1903
telepuppet1958
telerobot1958
teleoperator1966
telechiric1968
telechir1976
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > types of machine generally > [noun] > automatic > controlled remotely > operation of
remote control1903
teleoperation1916
1903 U.S. Patent 732,255 1/1 My invention relates to the construction of switches for high-tension circuits,..as also to the mechanism for operating the switches by remote control.
1920 Wireless World 7 Aug. 356/1 It has become standard practice to employ ‘remote control’, that is to say the main portion of the wireless apparatus..are fitted in one or two boxes which can be suspended in any convenient part of the main fuselage.
1945 C. E. Balleisen Princ. Firearms vii. 70 In weapons designed for remote control, there is no actual trigger.
1955 Times 17 Aug. 10/5 Ploughing across the..water tank was the cabin cruiser Alert, under the remote control of her builder.
1988 Australian 15 June (Brisbane ed.) 1/2 Mini-robot submarines which can track down and destroy enemy mines by remote control.
2005 Austral. Financial Rev. (Sydney) 5 Sept. 63/4 Spyware can include..tools that let an attacker take remote control of a computer.
b. A device for controlling a piece of equipment at a distance, typically by means of radio or infrared signals that it transmits; esp. a hand-held device for operating a television or other domestic audio or video appliance; = remote n. 3.
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1913 U.S. Patent 1,077,594 1/1 When it is operated from the remote control, it operates first to disengage the bolt of the lock from the door frame and then to swing the door open.
1921 Wireless World 15 Oct. 439/1 The instrument is assembled from a Mk III ebonite top,..the parts of an aeroplane ‘remote control’, etc.
1950 G. Marx Let. 6 Dec. in G. Marx et al. Groucho Lett. (1967) 168 I have solved the television problem by having a remote control installed on the ugly box.
1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. vii. 254 Ken snapped off the TV with his remote control.
1992 Which? Oct. 4/2 You control the player with a joystick remote control.
2006 New Yorker 10 July 26/1 A high-concept, low-execution comedy, starring Adam Sandler as an overworked family man who is given a remote control that can fast-forward, pause, and rewind his complicated life.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
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1927 N.Y. Times 17 July viii. 13/3 A broadcast to be made from a point outside the studio is no longer called a ‘remote control job’.
1964 Internat. Rev. Neurobiol. 6 362 Remote-control techniques for cerebral stimulation.
1988 S. Rushdie Satanic Verses vii. i. 405 He watched a good deal of television with half an eye, channel-hopping compulsively, for he was a member of the remote-control culture.
1996 R. Goldman & S. Papson Sign Wars 276 Ads must now entertain trigger-happy remote-control users.
2004 Pop. Sci. Apr. 40/2 (caption) In remote-control mode, scientists will tether the HROV [= Hybrid Remotely Operated Vehicle] to hair-thin microcables, enabling real-time communications.
C2. attributive. Designating a device used for the remote control of equipment, as remote-control button, remote-control unit, etc.
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1898 Ann. Rep. Wire Dept. 1897 (Boston, Mass.) 28 63 Oliver street; overheating of magnet coils of remote control switch.
1933 Times 16 May 9/2 A remote control device for the selection of several alternative wireless programmes will soon be made available to the public.
1981 Oxf. Jrnl. 15 May (advt.) 14″ Colour portable TV with infra-red remote control hand unit.
1987 T. Wolfe Bonfire of Vanities (1988) 27 He opened the desk drawer and took out the remote-control gadget and clicked the set to life.
1989 Q Dec. 184/2 The remote-control keypad does let you access individual tracks.
2004 ‘J. Jameson’ & N. Strauss How to make Love like Porn Star vi. x. 552 When I watched television, even the sports channels on the remote-control presets reminded me of him.
C3. attributive. = remote-controlled adj.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > types of machine generally > [adjective] > automatic > controlled remotely
remote-controlled1904
remote control1925
teleoperated1952
telerobot1958
telechiric1963
telerobotic?1975
1925 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 44 1189/1 The general load is supplied by means of 2300/4000-volt..circuits from the various manually-operated and remote-control substations.
1959 Science 24 Apr. 1118/1 A remote-control handling machine for use in radioactive laboratories has been developed.
1974 Harrods Christmas Catal. 69/1 Remote-control gantry crane, battery operated... 28″ high. £8.50.
1990 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army Gloss. 373 A spotter for a control-wire or remote-control explosion.
2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 6 Jan. (Travel section) 2/1 Every suite..features a sunken living room, marble baths and remote control Roman shades.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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