deus ex machina

[ dey-uh s eks mah-kuh-nuh, dee-uh s eks mak-uh-nuh ]
/ ˈdeɪ əs ɛks ˈmɑ kə nə, ˈdi əs ɛks ˈmæk ə nə /

noun

(in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot.
any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.

Origin of deus ex machina

1690–1700; < New Latin literally, god from a machine (i.e., stage machinery from which a deity's statue was lowered), as translation of Greek apò mēchanês theós (Demosthenes), theòs ek mēchanês (Menander), etc.

Words nearby deus ex machina

British Dictionary definitions for deus ex machina

deus ex machina
/ Latin (ˈdeɪʊs ɛks ˈmækɪnə) /

noun

(in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the plot
any unlikely or artificial device serving this purpose

Word Origin for deus ex machina

literally: god out of a machine, translating Greek theos ek mēkhanēs