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devil

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Devil

English

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Image
The Devil, as depicted by Gustave Doré to illustrate John Milton's poem Paradise Lost.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwísder.
Ancient Greek διά (diá)
Ancient Greek δια- (dia-)
Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der.
Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō
Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō)
Ancient Greek διαβάλλω (diabállō)
Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos)bor.
Latin diabolusbor.
Proto-West Germanic *diubul
Old English dēofol
Middle English devel
English devil

    From Middle English devil, devel, deovel, from Old English dēofol, from Proto-West Germanic *diubul, from Latin diabolus, ultimately from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos, “false accuser, slanderer”), also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שָׂטָן (śātān)), from διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander”), literally “to throw across”, from διά (diá, “through, across”) + βάλλω (bállō, “throw”). The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Saterland Frisian Düüwel (“devil”), West Frisian duvel (“devil”), Dutch duivel, duvel (“devil”), German Low German Düvel (“devil”), German Teufel (“devil”), Bavarian Teifl (“devil”), Danish djævel (“devil”), Swedish djävul (“devil”) (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull). Doublet of diable, diablo, and diabolus.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈdɛvəl/, [ˈdɛvəl] ~ [ˈdɛvl̩]
      • Audio (US):(file)
    • IPA(key): /ˈdɛvɪl/, [ˈdɛvɪl] (rare, dated)
    • Rhymes: -ɛvəl
    • Hyphenation: dev‧il

    Proper noun

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    the devil

    1. (theology) The chief devil; Satan.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:Satan
      Antonym: God

    Alternative forms

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    Translations

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    Noun

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    devil (plural devils)

    1. (theology) An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.
      Synonym: demon
      Antonyms: angel, god
    2. (folklore) A man with red or orange skin and a pair of horns on his head, a pointed goatee, and a long tail, who carries a pitchfork, represents evil, and is portrayed to children as a boogeyman who punishes bad behavior.
    3. The bad part of the conscience; the opposite to the angel.
      Antonyms: angel, conscience
      The devil in me wants to let him suffer.
    4. A wicked or naughty person, or one who harbors reckless, spirited energy, especially in a mischievous way; usually said of a young child.
      Synonyms: imp, rascal, scamp, scoundrel
      Antonyms: angel, saint
      Those two kids are devils in a toy store.
    5. A thing that is awkward or difficult to understand or do.
      Synonyms: bastard, bitch, (UK) bugger, stinker
      Antonyms: (US) cakewalk, piece of cake
      That math problem was a devil.
    6. (euphemistic, with an article, as an intensifier) Hell.
      Synonyms: (euphemistic) deuce, (euphemistic) dickens, (vulgar) fuck, heck, hell
      What in the devil is that?
      What the devil is that?
      She is having a devil of a time fixing it.
      You can go to the devil for all I care.
    7. A person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him, usually in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil.
      Synonyms: (UK) bugger, (used of a woman) cow, (UK) sod
      • 1954, Ian Fleming, “The Red Carpet”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 8:
        'Well, I'm damned,' said Bond. 'Of course that old devil M never told me. He just gives one the facts. Never tells one any good news. I suppose he thinks it might influence one's decision to take a case or not.'
    8. A printer's assistant.
      Synonym: printer's devil
      • 2010, Andrea Levy, The Long Song, Tinder Press (2017), page 381:
        For he will not leave his listener to dwell upon sorrow when the print office beckons and he can show you what a good little devil he became.
    9. (India) A poltergeist that haunts printing works.
    10. A dust devil.
      • 1877, H. F. Blandford, Indian Meteorologist's Vade-mecum, page 140:
        The formation of tornados and water-spouts is very probably identical with that of dust-storms and "devils," viz., a sudden disturbance of the vertical equilibrium of the atmosphere, where by an upward rush of air is generated, which rapidly becomes spiral.
      • 1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XII, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 114 footnote:
        There are few sights more appalling than a sandstorm in the desert, the "Zauba'ah" as the Arabs call it. Devils, or pillars of sand, vertical and inclined, measuring a thousand feet high[.]
    11. (dialectal, in compounds) A barren, unproductive and unused area.[1][2]
      devil strip
    12. (cooking) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.
    13. A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc., as used in the production of mungo or shoddy.
      • 1918, Henry J. Spooner, Wealth from Waste: Elimination of Waste A World Problem, George Routledge & Sons, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 200:
        The woollen things are torn to pieces by a machine having spiked rollers (termed a devil), cleansed, and the fibre spun with a certain proportion of new wool, the yarn being afterwards woven into the full-bodied but flimsy fabric termed shoddy.
    14. A Tasmanian devil.
      • 1999, Julia Leigh, The Hunter, Faber & Faber 2012, p. 32:
        He removes his food, water, and torch from the pack and then pushes it to the far end of the tent – no devil is going to rip his pack apart tonight.
      • 2008, Joyce L. Markovics, Tasmanian Devil: Nighttime Scavenger, page 8:
        In the 1800s, for example, workers at a wool company were scared that the devils would attack their sheep.
    15. (cycling, slang) An endurance event where riders who fall behind are periodically eliminated.
    16. (nautical) Ellipsis of devil seam (“the seam between garboard strake and the keel, on wooden boats”).
      Coordinate terms: between the devil and the deep blue sea, devil to pay

    Derived terms

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    Terms derived from devil (noun)
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    Descendants

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    • Tok Pisin: tewel
    • → Chuukese: tefin

    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Verb

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    devil (third-person singular simple present devils, present participle (US) deviling or (UK) devilling, simple past and past participle (US) deviled or (UK) devilled)

    1. To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil.
    2. To annoy or bother.
      Synonyms: bedevil; see also Thesaurus:annoy
    3. (intransitive) To work as a ‘devil’; to work for a lawyer or writer without fee or recognition.
      • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 401:
        He did not repeat the scathing estimate of her character by Quatrefages, who at that time spent one afternoon a week devilling at the Consulate, keeping the petty-cash box in order.
    4. To ghostwrite; to author while working as a ‘devil’.
      • 1922, John Galsworthy, Conscience, page 4:
        Didn't secretaries write the speeches of Parliamentary "big-bugs"? Weren't the opinions of eminent lawyers often written by their juniors, read over and signed? Weren't briefs and pleadings devilled?
    5. To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy:
      • 1912, Stephen Leacock, “The Hostelry of Mr. Smith”, in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, page 28:
        […] ; you could watch a buckwheat pancake whirled into existence under your eyes and see fowls' legs devilled, peppered, grilled, and tormented till they lost all semblance of the original Mariposa chicken.
      1. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) To finely grind (cooked ham or other meat) with spices and condiments.
      2. To prepare (shelled halved boiled eggs, as a sidedish) by removing the yolks, adding condiments and spices to them, and placing that mixture back into (the halved eggs' whites) to be served.
        She's going to devil four dozen eggs for the picnic.
    6. To shred fabric into its fibres for recycling, as in the production of mungo or shoddy.
      • 1918, Henry J. Spooner, Wealth from Waste: Elimination of Waste A World Problem, George Routledge & Sons, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 200:
        Tailors' clippings and remnants of fine woollen goods, such as broadcloth, etc., are devilled and spun into yarn for making cloth of nicer quality, called mungo.

    Usage notes

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    • UK usage doubles the l in the inflected forms "devilled" and "devilling"; US usage generally does not.

    Derived terms

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    food
    bothersome

    Translations

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    See also

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    References

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    1. ^ Dictionary of Regional American English
    2. ^ Word Detective: Tales from the berm

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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    Middle English

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    Noun

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    devil

    1. alternative form of devel
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