deus ex machina
1697, from Mod.L. translation of Gk. theos ek mekhanes, lit. "the god
from the machina," the device by which "gods" were suspended over the
stage in Gk. theater (see machine). The fem. is dea ex machina.
deus ex machina nounEtymology: New Latin, a god from a machine, translation of Greek
theos ek mēchanēsDate: 1697 1. a god introduced
by means of a crane in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final
outcome 2. a person or thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears
or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution
to an apparently insoluble difficulty
deus ex machina n. an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, esp. in a play or novel. Etymology: mod.L transl. of Gk theos ek mekhanes, = god from the machinery
(by which in the Greek theatre the gods were suspended above the stage)
deus ex machina
n. an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation,
esp. in a play or novel. [mod.L transl. of Gk theos ek mekhanes, = god from
the machinery (by which in the Greek theatre the gods were suspended above
the stage)]
Deus ex machina
the introduction in high matters of a merely
external, material, or mechanical explanation instead of an internal,
rational, or spiritual one, which is all a theologian does when he simply
names God, and all a scientist does when he simply says Evolution
(q. v.).
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