Technology | Definition, Examples, Types, & Facts | Britannica

technology, the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life—or, as it is sometimes phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment.

The word technology is a combination of the Greek technē, which means “art, craft,” and logos, which means “word, speech.” It first appeared in English in the 17th century, and it has evolved through several meanings to its present-day sense.

Technology is a vast and sprawling subject treated across articles too numerous to list here. What follows is a highly selective list of examples of how technology has changed our world—and how, in the 21st century, the speed of its development has only accelerated.

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History of Technology Timeline

• For a general overview of what counts as technology from the ancient world to the 21st century, see history of technology.

• Do you know what an elastomer is? Think rubber—a crucially important technology.

• Pop music has been dependent on technological advances, from phonographs to Auto-Tune.

• Because nanotechnology operates at the scale of atoms, its possibilities are vast.

• Engineering is, arguably, the practice of technology. It can take many forms: aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, humanitarian engineering, military engineering, nuclear engineering, petroleum engineering, and tissue engineering are just a few examples.