# cybernetics

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌsaɪ.bə(ɹ)ˈnɛ.tɪks/ · frequency rank #47,557

## Definitions
1. The theory/science of communication and control in living organisms or machines.
2. The art/study of governing, controlling automatic processes and communication.
3. Technology related to computers and the Internet.

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “steersman”), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “I steer, drive, guide, act as a pilot”) (whence English govern). The term is attested since at least 1948 in the book Cybernetics by Norbert Wiener, influenced by the cognate term and doublet governor, the name of an early control device proposed by James Clerk Maxwell in 1868. Note also the 1830s French cybernétique (“the art of governing”). Also doublet of Kubernetes.

## Easily confused with
- **cybernetic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cybernetic-vs-cybernetics)

## Common misspellings (18)
`cbyernetics`, `ccybernetics`, `cybbernetics`, `cybenretics`, `cyberentics`, `cyberneitcs`, `cybernetcis`, `cyberneticcs`, `cyberneticss`, `cybernetisc`, `cybernettics`, `cybernnetics`, `cybernteics`, `cyberrnetics`, `cybrenetics`, `cyebrnetics`, `cyybernetics`, `ycbernetics`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cybernetics