ANSWER
The word "robot" was introduced into the English language by Czech writer Karel Capek, in his play "RUR - Rossum's Universal Robots", written in 1920, and translated into English in 1923. The word was suggested by Karel's brother Josef. It is derived from the Czech word "robota", meaning "forced labor".
Interestingly, Capek's robots were not mechanical men, they were organic. These robots were artificially created men, much like human beings, except they were simplified by removing anything not directly related to work. While they remember everything, they never think of anything new. According to one of the characters in the play "They'd make fine university professors."
(Honorable mention to Gregory Combs and Adrian Beckett, for noting the similarity to the Russian word "rabotat", meaning "to labor")
WHO GOT IT RIGHT: Pete Daggett, Andie J, Robert Walker, Marc Quinlivan, Robin Campbell, Bob Milligan, Jennifer Stutler, Trish Boggs, Marika Thiessen, Kathy Smith, and JP Weigt.
