thaumaturgy

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 22, 2010 is: thaumaturgy • \THAW-muh-ter-jee\  • noun : the performance of miracles; specifically : magic Examples: After reading all seven Harry Potter novels in a span of two weeks, Audrey was hungry for more thrilling tales of mysticism and thaumaturgy. Did you know? The magic of "thaumaturgy" is miraculous. The word, from a Greek word meaning "miracle working," is applicable to any performance of miracles, especially by incantation. It can also be used of things that merely seem miraculous and unexplainable, like the thaumaturgy of a motion picture's illusions (aka "movie magic"), or the thaumaturgy at work in an athletic team's "miracle" comeback. In addition to "thaumaturgy," we also have "thaumaturge" and "thaumaturgist," both of which mean "a performer of miracles" or "a magician," and the adjective "thaumaturgic," meaning "performing miracles" or "of, relating to, or dependent on thaumaturgy." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.