Democritus

American  

[dih-mok-ri-tuhs] / dɪˈmɒk rɪ təs /

noun

1. the Laughing Philosopher, c460–370 b.c., Greek philosopher.

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Democritus British  

/ dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs /

noun

1. ?460–?370 _bc , Greek philosopher who developed the atomist theory of matter of his teacher, Leucippus See also atomism

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Democritus Scientific  

/ dĭ-mŏk′rĭ-təs /

1. Greek philosopher who developed one of the first atomist theories of the universe. Democritus believed that the world consists of an infinite number of very small particles whose different characteristics and combinations account for the different qualities of all matter.

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Example Sentences

In Greece, for instance, Sitaridou co-introduced a pioneering new course on Pontic Greek at the Democritus University of Thrace since the number of speakers of Pontic Greek is also dwindling.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2024

She begins in the 5th century B.C., when Democritus formulated his atomism, locating the ultimate nature of things in matter rather than divinity.

From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2023

Ingenious ancient Greeks, such as Democritus and Epicurus, were the first Atomists.

From Salon • May 16, 2019

Unlike Democritus, however, Dalton brought to bear a substantial body of evidence for his theory.

From Scientific American • Oct. 5, 2018

This hint, this whiff, of the existence of atoms was carried much further by a man named Democritus, who came from the Ionian colony of Abdera in northern Greece.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan