| en·tel·e·chy Pronunciation: en-'te-l&-kE, in- Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural -chies Etymology: Late Latin entelechia, from Greek entelecheia, from entelEs complete (from en- 2en- + telos end) + echein to have --more at WHEEL, SCHEME Date: 1603 1 : the actualization of form-giving cause as contrasted with potential existence 2 : a hypothetical agency not demonstrable by scientific methods that in some vitalist doctrines is considered an inherent regulating and directing force in the development and functioning of an organism |