deus ex machina

Where does the word "deus ex machina" come from? It comes from Greek theos ek mekhanes, passing through Latin before entering English (1690s).

Deus ex machina’s story begins in Greek: theos ek mekhanes meant “god from the machine.” God from the machine, describing a stage device that lowered actors playing gods into a play. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as deus ex machina. Translated from Greek theatrical vocabulary for the same stage device. It reached English by 1690s as deus ex machina. A god lowered onto the stage by crane, a device used by Euripides. Today, deus ex machina means an unexpected, artificial plot device that suddenly resolves a story's difficulties.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient theos ek mekhanes "god from the machine", god from the machine, describing a stage device that lowered actors playing gods into a play.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient deus ex machina "god from the machine", translated from Greek theatrical vocabulary for the same stage device.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1690s deus ex machina "a contrived, artificial resolution to a story's problems", a god lowered onto the stage by crane, a device used by Euripides.