thaumaturge
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of thaumaturge
First recorded in 1705–15; back formation from thaumaturgic
Explanation
A thaumaturge is a magician or mystic. If you impress your friend by pulling coins out of her ear or turning her homework into a bouquet of flowers, she may call you a thaumaturge. The original definition of thaumaturge, dating from 1715, is "worker of wonders." Most early thaumaturges were practitioners of nonreligious magic, particularly magic that was based in science or mathematics. Occasionally, the word has also been used in a religious sense, to mean "saint" or "miracle worker." This word is rooted in the Greek thaûma, "wonder or astonishment."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Polish studio Fool’s Theory, led by veterans of the beloved Witcher series, describes The Thaumaturge as a role-playing game with “morally ambiguous choices,” and its blend of alternate history and metaphysical mystery looks intriguing.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2024
Once, he said, the church of St. Anthony the Thaumaturge, which overlooked the canal stretching out toward the Adriatic, had been reflected in the water.
From Slate • Aug. 1, 2016
Such a performance fairly earned for him his surname of Thaumaturge, but this prodigious zeal has fallen off greatly.
From Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 8 Italy and Greece, Part Two by Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting)
Though of humble origin, this arch-impostor assumed the title of Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, and styled himself Grand Cophta, Prophet and Thaumaturge.
From Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery by Lawrence, Robert Means
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
