thaumaturgus

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin thaumaturgus, from Ancient Greek θαυματουργός (thaumatourgós). Doublet of thaumaturge.

Noun

thaumaturgus (plural thaumaturguses or thaumaturgusses or thaumaturgi)

1. A miracle worker.

   Synonym: thaumaturgist

   • 1927 [1863], The Life of Jesus‎^[1], translation of Vie de Jésus by Ernest Renan:

     If to-morrow a thaumaturgus present himself with credentials sufficiently important to be discussed, and announce himself as able, say, to raise the dead, what would be done? A commission, composed of physiologists, physicists, chemists, persons accustomed to historical criticism, would be named.

Usage notes

• This is a title given by the Roman Catholics to some saints.

References

• “thaumaturgus”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.