1803, "the doctrine that animals below man are devoid of consciousness;" see automaton + -ism. By 1856 as "automatic or involuntary action."

in reference to the actions or reactions of higher animals, "a rendering automatic," by 1869, noun of action from automatize. Generally, automatization is used of animals, automation of machinery.

commercial word-forming element denoting devices that work automatically or businesses containing self-service equipment, abstracted from automat (1903), which probably is from automatic, in which case the element is etymologically from Greek matos "thinking, animated."

also bio-feedback, "use of electronics to monitor an automatic bodily function to train a person to control it," 1969, from bio- + feedback. Said to have been coined by U.S. psychologist and parapsychologist Gardner Murphy.

"capacity of automatic or spontaneous movement," 1827, from French motilité (1827), from Latin mot-, stem of movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away").

"short-barreled, large-caliber pistol," very effective at close range, 1850, for Henry Deringer (1786-1868), U.S. gunsmith who invented it in the 1840s. The prevailing misspelled form is how his name appeared on the many counterfeits and imitations.

to come on like gangbusters (c. 1940) is from popular U.S. radio crime-fighting drama "Gang Busters" (1937-57) which always opened with a cacophony of sirens, screams, pistol shots, and jarring music.

"small automatic blast lamp, plumber's torch, apparatus in which a spray of gas is expelled in a very hot flame under air pressure," 1894, from blow (v.1) + torch (n.).

"revolving firearm," originally and especially a type of pistol able to fire multiple shots without reloading, 1835, agent noun from revolve (v.). So called by U.S. inventor Samuel Colt (1814-1862) for its revolving bored barrel (later models used a revolving chamber cylinder).

1854, "put up in a can," past-participle adjective from can (v.2). In reference to music, "pre-recorded," from 1903 (with an isolated, hypothetical use from 1894).

John Phillip Sousa, the celebrated bandmaster, strongly condemns "canned music," by which he means automatic musical instruments, such as pianos, organs, graphophones, etc. The professor foresees in the distant future none but mechanical singers, mechanical piano-players, mechanical orchestras, etc., factories running night and day turning out automatic music; bandmasters, choir leaders, organists, etc., being compelled to labor otherwise for their living. [The Cambrian, September 1906]