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.

Words nearby entelechy

entanglement, entangling alliances with none, entasia, entasis, entebbe, entelechy, entellus, entente, entente cordiale, enter, enter into

Origin of entelechy

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

OTHER WORDS FROM entelechy

en·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. 2020

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