An android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human, especially one with a body having a flesh-like resemblance. Although “android” is used almost universally to refer to both sexes, and those of no particular sex, “android” technically refers to the male form, while “gynoid” is the feminine form. Until recently, androids have largely remained within the domain of science fiction, frequently seen in film and television. However, advancements in robotic technology have allowed the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots.
The word was coined from the Greek root ἀνδρ- ‘man’ and the suffix -oid ‘having the form or likeness of’.
The term “droid”, coined by George Lucas for the original Star Wars film and now used widely within science fiction, originated as an abridgment of “android”, but has been used by Lucas and others to mean any robot, including distinctly non-human form machines like R2-D2. The abbreviation “andy”, coined as a pejorative by…