Webster's 1828 Dictionary
ARCHEUS
n.[Gr. beginning, or a chief. ] A term used by the ancient chimists, to denote the interal efficient cause of all things; the anima mundi or plastic power of the old philosophers; the power that presides over the animal economy, or the vis medicatrix; the active principle of the material world. In medicine, good health, or ancient practice.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
ARCHEUS
Ar *che "us, n. Etym: [LL. arch, Gr. Archi-, pref. ]
Defn: The vital principle or force which (according to the Paracelsians ) presides over the growth and continuation of living beings; the anima mundi or plastic power of the old philosophers. [Obs. ] Johnson.
Duden Dictionary
Archeus
Ar che us Substantiv, maskulin , der |Arch e us |der Archeus; Genitiv: des Archeus, Plural: die Archei griechisch-neulateinisch Bezeichnung für eine als schaffend und gestaltend vorgestellte Naturkraft (in der humanistischen Naturphilosophie )
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