Mysteries of vernacular: Robot

Name: Mysteries of vernacular: Robot
Uploaded: 2020-06-08T17:33:42Z
Duration: 2 min 2 s
Description: In 1920, Czech writer Karel Čapek wrote a play about human-like machines, thereby inventing the term robot from the Central European word for forced labor. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how the science fiction staple earned its name.

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Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel |

TED-Ed

• October 2013

In 1920, Czech writer Karel Čapek wrote a play about human-like machines, thereby inventing the term robot from the Central European word for forced labor. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel explain how the science fiction staple earned its name.