‖Ar‐che″us (�), n. [LL. archēus, Gr. αρχαἰ̑οσ ancient, primeval, fr. αρχἤ beginning. See Archi-, pref.] 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. Johnson.
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Webster's Dictionary 1913
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913.