Involves

Word

Robot

ROH-bot · noun

A machine that performs work automatically, named from a Czech word for the compulsory labor once demanded from serfs

Examples

  • On factory floors, robots weld, lift, and assemble without rest.

  • In R.U.R., short for Rossum's Universal Robots, manufactured workers revolt against their human masters.

Origin

Robot comes from the Czech robota, the compulsory labor serfs owed a lord. Karel Čapek introduced the term in his 1920 play R.U.R., short for Rossum's Universal Robots. He later credited his brother Josef with suggesting the word. It soon traveled from Czech theater into languages around the world.

How it connects

The most futuristic word in the language began as the Czech word for compulsory labor.

This word appeared in Why did we name robots after forced labor?, the Involves connection for August 2, 2026, which asked: A warning about servitude became a promise of progress.

Check yourself

What does the Czech root of “robot” originally name?

The compulsory labor serfs once owed a lord.. Right. From Czech robota, the compulsory labor a serf owed a lord. Karel Čapek put the word into R.U.R., and it stuck.

What the sources establish

  • The word robot derives from Czech robota, meaning forced labor, and was introduced by Karel Čapek in his 1920 play R.U.R., with the term suggested by his brother Josef.

Sources