# How do you say "Deus ex machina"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129 "2007-12-15T20:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/1 "2007-12-15T20:29:00Z")
The few online dictionarys I’ve visited with verbal pronunciations have pronounced “Deus ex machina” differently. This one seems the most correct (click the little speaker icon): > **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://www.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=deus-ex-machina)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want But it appears the “Deus” part isn’t pronounced, is that correct? ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/2 "2007-12-15T20:31:05Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] The few online dictionarys I’ve visited with verbal pronunciations have pronounced “Deus ex machina” differently. This one seems the most correct (click the little speaker icon): > **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://www.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=deus-ex-machina)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want But it appears the “Deus” part isn’t pronounced, is that correct? [/QUOTE] Ex Machina is pronounced correctly, it looks like the voice fragment is missing deus. It is pronounced “DAY OOS”. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/3 "2007-12-15T20:33:56Z")
Thanks for asking this, I always stumble over this when I’m reading and trying to say it in my head. I have never had the occasion to say it out loud however. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/4 "2007-12-15T21:26:25Z")
MW has two good pronunciations [here](http://m-w.com/dictionary/deus%20ex%20machina) (click the little speaker icons.) The [answers.com](http://answers.com) one seems to have the “deus” part cut off. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/5 "2007-12-16T00:29:23Z")
Note that these are the ‘accepted’ ways to pronounce this. We don’t really _know_ how ancient Greeks & Romans pronounced words, of course. We have actual written works, but no audio recordings of their words. There are clues; we have some rhyming poetry, and indications from the modern languages that developed from these ancient languages give hints. But there are still lively arguments among professional linguists about the exact pronunciation of ancient words. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/6 "2007-12-16T00:32:59Z")
Wikipedia usually has pronunciations: > **[Deus ex machina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina)** > > Deus ex machina (/ˌdeɪəs ɛks ˈmækɪnə, ˈmɑːk-/ DAY-əs ex-MA(H)K-in-ə, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Latin: \[ˈdɛ.ʊs ɛks ˈmaːkʰɪnaː\]; plural: dei ex machina; English "god from the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurre Deus ex ... From the link: Latin IPA: [ˈdeːus eks ˈmaːkʰina] (though, I guess you have to be able to read IPA to use this…) ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/7 "2007-12-16T04:41:32Z")
I remember needling a guy I knew in high school who took Latin by mispronouncing that phrase. He tried to get back at me by mispronouncing things in the foreign language I was taking, Spanish – as if I cared. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/8 "2007-12-16T05:05:18Z")
I remember humiliating myself in high school by pronouncing it “Doos ex muh-SHEEN-uh” during a read-aloud thing. Clearly that’s the WRONG way. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/9 "2007-12-16T12:08:10Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] I remember humiliating myself in high school by pronouncing it “Doos ex muh-SHEEN-uh” during a read-aloud thing. Clearly that’s the WRONG way. [/QUOTE] In HS, I mispronounced “suave,” sounding it out phonetically, and using a long a. I’d never heard it used, but ran into that word a lot in the stuff I’d read. Confession is good for the soul. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/10 "2007-12-16T14:05:10Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] MW has two good pronunciations [here](http://m-w.com/dictionary/deus%20ex%20machina) (click the little speaker icons.) [/QUOTE] There are two speaker icons. It’s in stereo! Ah, now after listening to the correct pronunciation, this is one of those phrases I’m going to have to keep “mispronouncing” because of peer pressure. That will be easier than trying to re-educate everybody I know. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/11 "2007-12-16T19:00:38Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] There are two speaker icons. It’s in stereo! Ah, now after listening to the correct pronunciation, this is one of those phrases I’m going to have to keep “mispronouncing” because of peer pressure. That will be easier than trying to re-educate everybody I know. [/QUOTE] How does everyone else pronounce it? Oh, and thanks everyone for the responses! ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/12 "2007-12-16T23:52:23Z")
The only time I’ve ever heard it spoken was in **Oiive, the Other Reindeere** (she receives a package that gets her out of some trouble addressed from Deus Ex Machina). ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/13 "2007-12-19T05:39:46Z")
I run into this kind of problem frequently. I read quite a bit, and sadly, most of those I encounter don’t. I’ll run across a particular term or phrase dozens of times but never have reason to say it aloud. When the time comes to use this term that I’m long since comfortable with, I realize that I haven’t a clue how to say it and am about to wind up looking like a moron who looks up words only for use in (poorly) faking intelligence! ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-deus-ex-machina/430129/14 "2007-12-19T07:55:05Z")
Do sex McKenna?