entelechy

[ en-tel-uh-kee ]

noun

, plural en·tel·e·chies.

1. a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality.
2. (in vitalist philosophy) a vital agent or force directing growth and life.

entelechy

/ ɛnˈtɛlɪkɪ /

noun

1. (in the philosophy of Aristotle) actuality as opposed to potentiality
2. (in the system of Leibnitz) the soul or principle of perfection of an object or person; a monad or basic constituent
3. something that contains or realizes a final cause, esp the vital force thought to direct the life of an organism

Other Words From

• en·te·lech·i·al [en-t, uh, -, lek, -ee-, uh, l], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of entelechy¹

1595–1605; < Late Latin entelechīa < Greek entelécheia, equivalent to en- en- ² + tél ( os ) goal + éch ( ein ) to have + -eia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of entelechy¹

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

Example Sentences

Shall we say with Aristotle, that the soul is the entelechy or form of an organized living body?

From Project Gutenberg

In particular, he picked out the Aristotelian "entelechy" to stop a gap in the philosophy of his own age.'

From Project Gutenberg

Entelechy was a useful name for X, the more so as it had the authority of Aristotle, the master of scholasticism.

From Project Gutenberg

We could regard what is called catalysis solely as an agent in the service of entelechy.

From Project Gutenberg

Let us again apply the name entelechy to that which lies at the very beginning of all individual morphogenesis.

From Project Gutenberg