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thaumaturgics (s) (noun) (a plural that functions as a singular)
Feats of magic, conjuring tricks.
  • The gods of mythologic philosophies were created to account for the wonders of nature.
  • Necessarily they were wonder-working individuals, and having been endowed with these magical powers in all the histories given in mythic tales of their activities on the earth, we find them performing amazing feats.
  • They could transform themselves; they were able to disappear and reappear; all their senses were magical; some were endowed with a multiplicity of eyes, others had an abundance of ears.
  • In Norse mythology the watchman on the rainbow bridge could hear the grass grow, and the movements of wool on the backs of sheep.
  • Their arms were able to stretch out to grasp the distance, tails could coil about mountains, and all their powers became magical.
  • The most wonderful power with which the gods were endowed was the capacity of will, for we find that they could think their arrows to the hearts of their enemies; mountains were overthrown by thought, and their conceptions were projected into other minds
  • Such were the thaumaturgics of mythologic philosophy.

—Information for this entry was compiled from the following sources:
The Development of Modern English by Stuart Robertson and revised by Frederic G. Cassidy.
The Origins and Development of the English Language by Thomas Pyles.
A History of the English Language by Albert C. Baugh.
The Story of the English Language by Mario Pei.
This entry is located in the following units: -ics, -tics [-ac after i] (page 34) thaumato-, thaumat- (page 2)