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

Democritus believed that light refracting through atoms caused the phenomenon that we perceive and describe conventionally, or by mutual agreement, as color.

From Salon • Nov. 16, 2024

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

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

From Scientific American • Oct. 5, 2018

Democritus, in ancient Greece, put forward the idea that at its smallest level, the universe was made of atoms.

From Washington Post • Feb. 24, 2018

As Democritus put it, ‘By convention sweet, by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention colour: but in reality atoms and void.’

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton