dea ex machina

English

Etymology

An alteration of Latin deus ex māchinā in English, substituting the masculine or epicene deus (“god”) with the feminine dea (“goddess”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪə ɛks ˈmakɪnə/

Noun

dea ex machina (plural deae ex machina)

1. A female deus ex machina; a providential intervention (in a story etc.) from a female force or character.
   • 1999, Philip Pullman, “The Path Through the Wood”, in Daemon Voices, Vintage, published 2017, page 79:

     That's the end of her story—the Cinderella path—but it's not the end of her life, which is just as well, because the poor little rat-boy ends up in desperate need of a dea ex machina in order to save him from the terrible fate towards which the path of his story seems to be taking him.

Related terms

• deus ex machina (epicene or masculine)