Archeus \Ar*che"us\, n. [LL. arch[=e]us, Gr. 'archai^os ancient, primeval, fr. 'archh` 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. [Obs.] --Johnson. [1913 Webster]