noun
- Plural of daemon; in classical mythology and philosophy, supernatural beings or spirits intermediate between gods and humans.
- In computing, background processes or programs that run automatically without direct user interaction.
Usage: archaic or literary; often capitalized in classical contexts; from Greek daimōn
Usage: technical; computing jargon; often lowercase in modern usage
Examples
- In Plato's writings, daemones served as intermediaries between the divine and mortal realms.
- The ancient Greeks believed daemones could influence human affairs and destiny.
- Unix systems use daemones to manage network services and system tasks.
- The web server runs several daemones to handle incoming requests automatically.
- Medieval theologians debated whether daemones were inherently evil or morally neutral.
- System administrators monitor the daemones running on their servers for performance issues.