French word

cybernétique

Pronunciation

IPA/sibɛʁnetik/

Meaning

  • feminine nouncybernetics

Example

La cybernétique étudie les systèmes de contrôle.

Cybernetics examines control systems.

Illustration for cybernétique (cybernetics)

More examples

La cybernétique aide à concevoir des systèmes automatisés.

Cybernetics helps design automated systems.

Core concept

A self-regulating network in which information about results feeds back into control of a machine, organism, or social group.

Similar words

contrôle: The oversight of an action or process through directions and limits.
système: An arrangement of connected elements designed to perform a particular function.
régulation: The process of adjusting conditions to maintain a stable state.

Definition in French

Discipline qui étudie les systèmes capables de se réguler eux-mêmes par des mécanismes de rétroaction, qu'il s'agisse de dispositifs techniques, d'organismes vivants ou de collectifs sociaux.

Word origin

The word cybernétique ultimately refers to steering through its Greek source kybernētēs and entered French through the modern scientific term cybernetics.

Usage tips

  • The prefix cyber- in cybernétique concerns control and communication, not specifically the Internet as it often does in newer English compounds.

Other meanings

  • cyberneticadjective

Word lists with this word