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5 results for: entelechy

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
en·tel·e·chy    Audio Help   [en-tel-uh-kee] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -chies.
1.a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality.
2.(in vitalist philosophy) a vital agent or force directing growth and life.
[Origin: 1595–1605; < LL entelechīa < Gk entelécheia, equiv. to en- en-2 + tél(os) goal + éch(ein) to have + -eia -y3]

—Related forms
en·te·lech·i·al    Audio Help   [en-tuh-lek-ee-uhl] Pronunciation Key, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
entelechy

To learn more about entelechy visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
en·tel·e·chy    Audio Help   (ěn-těl'ĭ-kē)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. en·tel·e·chies
  1. In the philosophy of Aristotle, the condition of a thing whose essence is fully realized; actuality.
  2. In some philosophical systems, a vital force that directs an organism toward self-fulfillment.


[Late Latin entelechīa, from Greek entelekheia : entelēs, complete (en-, in; see en-2 + telos, completion; see kwel-1 in Indo-European roots) + ekhein, to have; see segh- in Indo-European roots.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
entelechy 
1603, from Gk. entelekheia, from en- "in" + telei, dat. of telos "perfection" (see tele-) + ekhein "to have." In Aristotle, "the condition in which a potentiality has become an actuality."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
entelechy

noun
(Aristotle) the state of something that is fully realized; actuality as opposed to potentiality 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

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