entelechy

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en·tel·e·chy

(ĕn-tĕl′ĭ-kē)

n. pl. en·tel·e·chies

1. In the philosophy of Aristotle, the actualization of the potential form or function of a substance.

2. In some philosophical systems, a vital force that directs an organism toward self-fulfillment.

[Late Latin entelechīa, from Greek entelekheia : entelēs, complete (en-, in; see en-² + telos, completion; see k^wel-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + ekhein, to have; see segh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

entelechy

(ɛnˈtɛlɪkɪ)

n, pl -chies

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

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

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

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

en•tel•e•chy

(ɛnˈtɛl ə ki)

n., pl. -chies.

1. a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality.

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

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

entelechy

Vitalism. a vital agent or force directing growth and life. Cf. teleology. — entelechial, adj.

entelechy

The physical achievement or realization of a potential.

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Noun

entelechy - (Aristotle) the state of something that is fully realized; actuality as opposed to potentiality

metaphysics - the philosophical study of being and knowing

Aristotle - one of the greatest of the ancient Athenian philosophers; pupil of Plato; teacher of Alexander the Great (384-322 BC)

actuality - the state of actually existing objectively; "a hope that progressed from possibility to actuality"

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This was an ever-repeated process in which an animal may adopt different forms and be transformed, as it occurred with the caterpillar and the butterfly, but it never disappeared and never completely lost its body, its material basis: "according to my opinion, not only are all lives, all souls, all minds, all primitive entelechies, everlasting, but also that to each primitive entelechy or each vital principle there is perpetually united a certain natural machine, which comes to us under the name of organic body: which machine, moreover, even although it preserves its form in general, remains in flux, and is, like the ship of Theseus, perpetually repaired.

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