Faustus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A legendary figure known for making a pact with the devil in exchange for knowledge and worldly pleasures
2. A scholar who, in various literary works, represents the archetype of ambition leading to dire consequences through a deal with supernatural forces
3. A character illustrating the themes of desire and the moral ramifications of a quest for unattainable wisdom and power through a diabolical contract

Etymology: Faustus is the Latin word for "fortunate" or "lucky," and it is the name a sixteenth-century German tradition attached to a scholar who sells his soul to the devil. The Latin adjective, from "faustus," shares its root with "favere," "to favour," which is why the name carries the sense of good fortune. The historical figure behind the legend is shadowy: Johann Faust, a travelling magician and astrologer, is recorded in a few documents from the early 1500s, and within decades a chapbook about his pact with the devil, printed in 1587, had spread his name across Europe. Christopher Marlowe's play "Doctor Faustus," written around 1592, turned the legend into English drama, and the name became shorthand for anyone who trades eternal cost for worldly gain. The irony is that the name, meaning "lucky," was attached to a story about the most unlucky of bargains, a pun that Renaissance audiences would have heard in the very name of the hero.

Synonyms: magician, alchemist, scholar, legendary figure