demiurge

[ dem-ee-urj ]

/ ˈdɛm iˌɜrdʒ /

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noun

Philosophy.

Platonism. the artificer of the world.
(in the Gnostic and certain other belief systems) a supernatural being imagined as creating or fashioning the world in subordination to the Supreme Being, and sometimes regarded as the originator of evil.

(in many states of ancient Greece) a public official or magistrate.

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Origin of demiurge

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Greek dēmiourgós “a worker for the people, public worker, skilled worker,” equivalent to dḗmio(s) “of the people, public” + -ergos “a worker,” derivative of érgon work

OTHER WORDS FROM demiurge

dem·i·ur·geous

[dem-ee-ur-juhs], /ˌdɛm iˈɜr dʒəs/, dem·i·ur·gic, dem·i·ur·gi·cal, adjectivedem·i·ur·gi·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby demiurge

demission, demist, demister, demit, demitasse, demiurge, demiveg, demi-vierge, demivolt, demiworld, demo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use demiurge in a sentence

It was one of the forms symbolic of the Demiurge or Maker of our universe.
Scarabs|Isaac Myer
The realm of his influence as a kind of Prometheus, or even as a demiurge, extends very far northwards.
Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1|Andrew Lang
For the Demiurge now appears as an inferior being, who in reality executes the purposes of the good God.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6|Various
Since no one could keep this law, the whole human race fell under the curse, temporal and eternal, of the Demiurge.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6|Various

By the “works of the Demiurge,” which the Christian is to flee, he meant the whole “service of the perishable.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6|Various

British Dictionary definitions for demiurge

demiurge

/ (ˈdɛmɪˌɜːdʒ, ˈdiː-) /

noun

(in the philosophy of Plato) the creator of the universe
(in Gnostic and some other philosophies) the creator of the universe, supernatural but subordinate to the Supreme Being

(in ancient Greece) a magistrate with varying powers found in any of several states

Derived forms of demiurge

demiurgeous, demiurgic or demiurgical, adjectivedemiurgically, adverb

Word Origin for demiurge

C17: from Church Latin dēmiūrgus, from Greek dēmiourgos skilled workman, literally: one who works for the people, from dēmos people + ergon work

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012