Etymology

Technology is a term that has been in use since the early 17th century and originally meant “systematic treatment” (from the Greek words “art, craft” and “study, knowledge”).[14][15] It was predated in use by Ancient Greek, which meant “knowledge of how to make things,” which included activities like architecture.

[16] Starting in the 19th century, continental Europeans started using the terms Technik (German) or technique (French) to refer to a “way of doing,”114–115 At the time, Technologie (German and French) either referred to the academic field studying “arts and crafts methods” or the political field “intended to legislate on the arts and crafts functions.

“”[2]:117 Both Technik and Technologie were translated as technology due to the lack of a distinction in English.In the 20th century, as a result of scientific progress and the Second Industrial Revolution, technology stopped being considered a distinct academic discipline and took on its current meaning:the systematic application of knowledge to actual problems[2]: 119