Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Merely mechanical; routine.
  • adjective Of or relating to a mechanic.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Merely mechanical; characteristic of mechanics or a mechanic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Mechanical; materialistic, uncultured.
  • adjective utilitarian

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (formal) ordinary and not refined

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek banausikos, from banausos, mechanic.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek βαναυσικός (banausikos, "of or for mechanics"), from βάναυσος (banausos, "mechanical, ironsmith"), from βαύνος (baunos, "furnace, forge").

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Examples

Comments

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  • Picked this up reading Stephen Fry.

    December 1, 2008

  • Yes, we are not banausic.

    December 1, 2008

  • Not banausic today.

    December 1, 2008

  • Verdammte Kulturbanausen! In den Worten von Götz von Berlichingen ..... Mozart KV 231

    December 1, 2008

  • I am only banausic

    February 5, 2009

  • JM is calling all banausic folk to sit down and remain uncounted, please.

    July 16, 2010

  • "Still, despite the tight shackles and endless drudgery, despite the difficulty in dealing with all this, how should I say, journalistic prose--for that's what it is: lifeless, banausic drivel that rushes like a torrent and lacks all color and rhythm, except that it seems to come in waves, but you could at least pace yourselves by contending with these waves one at a time, consider only the number of strokes to be made between each strike of the clock, instead of dwelling on the calendar."

    The No Variations by Luis Chitarroni, translated by Darren Koolman, p 156

    September 16, 2013