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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

de·us ex ma·chi·na

Audio Help [dey-uh

s eks mah-kuh-nuh, dee-uh

s eks mak-uh-nuh] Pronunciation Key

–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 méchanês theós (Demosthenes), theòs ek méchanês (Menander), etc.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Deus ex Machina

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

deus ex ma·chi·na Audio Help (ěks mä'kə-nə, -nä', māk'ə-nə) Pronunciation Key
n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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