Definitions

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

  • noun Something capable of self-replication, like a gene or meme.
  • noun A (fictional) technical device that replicates matter, especially made things.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The term replicator, originally introduced by Dawkins but since modified by Hull, is used to refer to any entity of which copies are made.

    Units and Levels of Selection Lloyd, Elisabeth 2005

  • An earlier version misstated the source for the term replicator, which Mr. Hart adopted to describe how e-books would allow for the infinite reproduction of books.

    NYT > Home Page By WILLIAM GRIMES 2011

  • In all cases the initial self-replicator is itself the product of multiple machines which are themselves purposefully constructed to enable the initial Universal Constructor.

    A Tetrahymena Puzzle 2008

  • If a replicator is broken, the worst that can happen is that I won't be able to buy more packets of chips! oh no! To be fair, some replicators do come in extreme handy, like for instance, the ones that sell Tox Hypos, near the end of the game.

    Post #3 - So when's this whole 'criticism' business going to come in? Ben Abraham 2007

  • If a replicator is broken, the worst that can happen is that I won't be able to buy more packets of chips! oh no! To be fair, some replicators do come in extreme handy, like for instance, the ones that sell Tox Hypos, near the end of the game.

    Archive 2007-10-01 Ben Abraham 2007

  • There's no sense that people are paid in replicator credits or holodeck privelages - in fact those only come in when Voyager is trapped in the delta quadrant and energy is at a premium (whoops - showing my geekiness there!) so we can assume the Enterprise doesn't run on such an economy.

    The value of gifts (or 'What Star Trek taught me about capitalism') Jonathan 2005

  • There's no sense that people are paid in replicator credits or holodeck privelages - in fact those only come in when Voyager is trapped in the delta quadrant and energy is at a premium (whoops - showing my geekiness there!) so we can assume the Enterprise doesn't run on such an economy.

    Archive 2005-01-01 Jonathan 2005

  • The terms replicator and interactor will be used in Hull's sense in the rest of this entry.

    Units and Levels of Selection Lloyd, Elisabeth 2005

  • He then went on to speculate about the further development of this molecule he calls a replicator, but failed to explain to his readers what life actually is.

    Scientific Blogging 2009

  • The replicator is a great idea; unfortunately, it's a long way off.

    When You Can Really Make A Silk Purse From A Sow 2008

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