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Deus ex Machina

 - 3 dictionary results

de⋅us ex ma⋅chi⋅na

  [dey-uhs eks mah-kuh-nuh, dee-uhs eks mak-uh-nuh]
Use Deus ex Machina in a Sentence
–noun
1. (in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot.
2. any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.
Origin:
1690–1700; < NL lit., god from a machine (i.e., stage machinery from which a deity's statue was lowered), as trans. of Gk apò mēchanês theós (Demosthenes), theòs ek mēchanês (Menander), etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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deus ex ma·chi·na   (ěks mä'kə-nə, -nä', māk'ə-nə)   
n.  

  1. In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.

  2. An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.

  3. A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty.


[New Latin deus ex māchinā : Latin deus, god + Latin ex, from + Latin māchinā, ablative of māchina, machine (translation of Greek theos apo mēkhanēs).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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