demiurge

noun demi·urge \ ˈde-mē-ˌərj \

Updated on: 28 Feb 2018

Definition of demiurge

1 capitalized

a : a Platonic subordinate deity who fashions the sensible world in the light of eternal ideas

b : a Gnostic subordinate deity who is the creator of the material world

2 : one that is an autonomous creative force or decisive power

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demiurgic

play \-jik\ or less commonly demiurgical play \-ji-kəl\ adjective

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Did You Know?

In the Platonic school of philosophy, the Demiurge is a deity who fashions the physical world in the light of eternal ideas. In the Timaeus, Plato credits the Demiurge with taking preexisting materials of chaos and arranging them in accordance with the models of eternal forms. Nowadays the word demiurge can refer to the individual or group chiefly responsible for a creative idea, as in "the demiurge behind the new hit TV show." Demiurge derives via Late Latin from Greek dēmiourgos, meaning "artisan" or "one with special skill." The "demi-" part of the word comes from the Greek noun dēmos, meaning "people;" the second part comes from the word for worker, "ergon."

Origin and Etymology of demiurge

borrowed from Late Latin dēmiurgus, borrowed from Greek dēmiourgós, literally, "master of a craft, artisan" (Homeric dēmioergós "one skilled in an art or craft that benefits the community"), contraction of *dēmioworgos, from dḗmios "of the people, public" (adjective derivative of dêmos "people") + *-worgos, ablaut derivative of Indo-European *u̯erǵ- "make, bring about" (whence, as a nominal derivative, Greek érgon "work") — more at demo-, ¹work

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First Known Use: 1840

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