Meanings
nounanalytical engine (plural analytical engines)
plural analytical engines
- historicalcomputingA mechanical general-purpose computer, designed by Charles Babbage but never built.
"It is an analytical engine, or, to use the more common term, a calculating machine, as you say," assented the inventor.
1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 分析機 /分析机
- 分析機 /分析机 (fēnxījī)mechanical general-purpose computer
French machine analytique
- machine analytiquemechanical general-purpose computer
Greek αναλυτική μηχανή
- αναλυτική μηχανή (analytikí michaní)mechanical general-purpose computer
Italian macchina analitica
- macchina analiticamechanical general-purpose computer
Japanese 分析機関
- 分析機関 (bunseki kikan)mechanical general-purpose computer
Portuguese máquina analítica
- máquina analíticamechanical general-purpose computer
Spanish máquina analítica
- máquina analíticamechanical general-purpose computer
Cite this entry
APA
analytical engine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/analytical%20engine
MLA
“analytical engine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/analytical%20engine. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “analytical engine,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/analytical%20engine.
Source: analytical engine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.