:replicator: n. Any construct that acts to produce copies of
itself; this could be a living organism, an idea (see {meme}), a
program (see {quine}, {worm}, {wabbit}, {fork bomb},
and {virus}), a pattern in a cellular automaton (see {life},
sense 1), or (speculatively) a robot or {nanobot}. It is even
claimed by some that {{UNIX}} and {C} are the symbiotic halves
of an extremely successful replicator; see {UNIX conspiracy}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
Related:
eplicator n.
Any construct that acts to produce copies of
itself his could be a living organism, an idea (see meme), a
program (see quine, worm, wabbit,
virus), a pattern in a cellular automaton (see life,
sense 1), or (speculatively) a robot or nanobot....