A mechanic is a trained, skilled tradesperson who usestools to build or repair machinery. The most common types of mechanics work on cars, motorcycles, tractors and airplanes. From the Greek root word 'mekhanikos', the oldest meaning of this word is simply 'labourer'. The current sense of the word 'mechanic' came into use along with the popularity of the automobile. Automobile mechanics may specialise in different areas, for instance the electrical aspects of vehicles, while others specialise in the mechanical, automatic or manual transmission of vehicles.