Language · 2
What Czech origin does the word 'robot' have?
Answer
From a Czech word meaning 'worker'
The word 'robot' comes from the Czech word 'robotnik' meaning 'forced worker' or 'forced labor.' It was popularized by Karel Čapek's 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots).
💡 Did you know?
Josef Čapek, Karel's brother, actually suggested the word 'robot' instead of Karel's original choice 'laboři' (workers from Latin labor).
Other options people guess
- From a Czech inventor's name
- From a Czech city
- From a Czech manufacturing term
Topics
- etymology
- Czech
- science fiction
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