Thaumaturges

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A practitioner of miraculous feats, often as a magician or wonder-worker in folklore or religious contexts
2. An individual credited with performing supernatural acts, such as healing or transforming elements, invoking divine or mystical powers
3. A person skilled in the art of magic who can effect extraordinary changes or phenomena, often appearing in mythological or spiritual traditions

Etymology: "Thaumaturges" is the plural of "thaumaturge", a word whose Greek parts are plain enough: "thaumato-" meaning "marvel" and "-ourgos", "worker" or "maker". A thaumaturge, then, is a marvel-worker. The Greek compound, "thaumatourgos", passed into Medieval Latin as "thaumaturgus", and English later took the word from that Latin form. English also has a doublet of this term, "thaumaturgus", which keeps the Latin spelling and sits alongside "thaumaturge" with the same root and meaning. The shared ending "-urge" appears in familiar words like "metallurgy" and "liturgy", which likewise draw on the Greek idea of "work" or "labour".

Synonyms: miracle workers, sorcerers, magicians