Democritus

[ dih-mok-ri-tuhs ]

noun

1. the Laughing Philosopher, c460–370 b.c., Greek philosopher.

Democritus

/ dɪˈmɒkrɪtəs /

noun

1. Democritus?460 bc?370 bcMGreekPHILOSOPHY: philosopher ?460–?370 bc , Greek philosopher who developed the atomist theory of matter of his teacher, Leucippus See also atomism

Democritus

/ 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.

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

Long ago two ancient Greek savants, Democritus and Leucippus, argued that matter consists of atoms, a notion that would be confirmed more than two millennia later.

From Scientific American

She begins in the 5th century B.C., when Democritus formulated his atomism, locating the ultimate nature of things in matter rather than divinity.

From Washington Post

A Greek philosopher, Democritus, put forward the idea in the fifth century that the world was made up of indivisible particles which he called atoms.

From BBC

The atomism of Democritus, Epicurus and Lucretius implied that the universe is made up of building blocks that function through their size, shape and solidity.

From Literature