entelechy

[ en-tel-uh-kee ]

/ ɛnˈtɛl ə ki /

noun, plural en·tel·e·chies.

a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality.

(in vitalist philosophy) a vital agent or force directing growth and life.

Nearby words

Origin of entelechy

1595–1605; < Late Latin entelechīa < Greek entelécheia, equivalent to en- en-² + tél(os) goal + éch(ein) to have + -eia -y³

Related formsen·te·lech·i·al

[en-tuh-lek-ee-uh l] /ˌɛn təˈlɛk i əl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for entelechy

Digby rejects an internal agent, entelechy, or the Aristotelian formal and efficient causes.
Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England|Charles W. Bodemer
It is here that the relation of the hypothetic transformistic principle to our concept of entelechy is concerned.
The Science and Philosophy of the Organism|Hans Driesch
We could regard what is called catalysis solely as an agent in the service of entelechy.
The Science and Philosophy of the Organism|Hans Driesch
The same philosopher gave to the soul the generic name of 'Entelechy' or Act.
Theodicy|G. W. Leibniz

For Aristotle it was the substantial form of the body—the entelechy, but not a substance.
Tragic Sense Of Life|Miguel de Unamuno

British Dictionary definitions for entelechy

entelechy

/ (ɛnˈtɛlɪkɪ) /

noun plural -chies metaphysics

(in the philosophy of Aristotle) actuality as opposed to potentiality

(in the system of Leibnitz) the soul or principle of perfection of an object or person; a monad or basic constituent

something that contains or realizes a final cause, esp the vital force thought to direct the life of an organism

Word Origin for entelechy

C17: from Late Latin entelechia, from Greek entelekheia, from en- ² + telos goal, completion + ekhein to have

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

Word Origin and History for entelechy

entelechy

c.1600, from Greek entelekheia, from en "in" (see en- (2)) + telei, dative of telos "perfection" (see tele-) + ekhein "to have" (see scheme (n.)). In Aristotle, "the condition in which a potentiality has become an actuality."