See Mephistopheles on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. The two-time occurrence of -ph- which is the Roman transliteration for Ancient Greek φ and of the termination -es which transliterates Ancient Greek -ης as in Aristoteles (Ἀριστοτέλης) along with the resemblance -phel-/-phil- bears to φιλεῖν (phileîn, “to love”) has led many to believe that this must originally be a Greek compound word. Based on this assumption, the first two letters have been identified with μή (mḗ, “not”), while -phisto-/-phosto- has been interpreted as a corruption of φωτο- (phōto-), the compositional form of φῶς (phôs, “light”). The name would thus mean \"not loving light\" which seems fitting for a devil. However, there are two major problems with this theory. Firstly, phōto- is a common and clearly recognizable morpheme in Greek, making it an unlikely candidate for corruption. Secondly, μή (mḗ) is not typically used in Ancient Greek name formation.\nA more credible explanation has been proposed by Julius Goebel. He focuses on the alternative form Mephistophiel, which appears in the Praxis Cabulae nigrae Doctoris Johannis Fausti magi celeberrimi (1612). He interprets mephist- as a disguised form of megist-, transliterating μέγιστος (mégistos, “greatest”), an epithet of Hermes in the title of Ἑρμῆς Τρισμέγιστος (Hermês Trismégistos, “thrice-greatest Hermes”) who was the guardian-god of the magicians, astrologers and alchemists. The second part, -ophiel, is interpreted as the proper name Ophiel, composed of ὄφις (óphis, “serpent”) and -ήλ (-ḗl), which is the Hebrew אֵל (“god, deity”). The derivation of demon names in -el from non-Hebrew bases was common in magic-books of the 16th and 17th century; other examples include Kyniel from Greek κύων (kúōn, “dog”) and Ariel from ariēs (“ram”).\nOphiel thus means \"serpent-god\" and refers to Hermes, who wields the κηρύκειον (kērúkeion), a staff entwined with two serpents. The appearance of Ophiel in the Wagnerbook and the Arbatel, where it is listed as another name for Mercury, supports this interpretation. Goebel therefore identifies Mephistopheles with Hermes Trismegistos and the planetary figure of Mercury.",
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{
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{
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"ref": "1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 215:",
"text": "I let him run on, this papier-maché Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe.",
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"ref": "2007, “Videotape”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:",
"text": "When I'm at the pearly gates / This'll be on my videotape, my videotape / When Mephistopheles is just beneath / And he's reaching up to grab me",
"type": "quote"
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"The Devil to whom Faust sold his soul in the legend."
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"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "mifistūfīlīs",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "مِفِسْتُوفِيلِيس"
},
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"roman": "Mefistofeles",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Մեֆիստոֆելես"
},
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Mefistòfil"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "Méifēisītuōfèilèsī",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "梅菲斯托費勒斯 /梅菲斯托费勒斯"
},
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"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofeles"
},
{
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Mefistofelo"
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Mefisto"
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"lang": "French",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
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"word": "Méphistophélès"
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{
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"roman": "mepisṭopeli",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "მეფისტოფელი"
},
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"lang": "German",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mephistopheles"
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"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "Mefistofelís",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Μεφιστοφελής"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofele"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "Mefisutoferesu",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "メフィストフェレス"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "Mepiseutopelleseu",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "메피스토펠레스"
},
{
"code": "mr",
"lang": "Marathi",
"roman": "mephisṭophīlīs",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "मेफिस्टोफीलीस"
},
{
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofeles"
},
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"code": "pl",
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofeles"
},
{
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"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistófeles"
},
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"roman": "Mefistófelʹ",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
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"word": "Мефисто́фель"
},
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"tags": [
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"word": "Mefistófeles"
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"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
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"word": "Мефісто́фель"
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"ref": "1989, Tim Smith, “Fast Robert”, in On Land and in the Sea, performed by Cardiacs:",
"text": "Poison in my idle mind makes quick work for the Mephistopheles, / Who quickly makes his excuses",
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"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 2 entries",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Arabic translations",
"Terms with Armenian translations",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Czech translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Esperanto translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Georgian translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Japanese translations",
"Terms with Korean translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Marathi translations",
"Terms with Occitan translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Ukrainian translations",
"en:Characters from folklore",
"en:European folklore",
"en:Human behaviour",
"en:Mythological figures",
"en:People"
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "Mephistophelean"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. The two-time occurrence of -ph- which is the Roman transliteration for Ancient Greek φ and of the termination -es which transliterates Ancient Greek -ης as in Aristoteles (Ἀριστοτέλης) along with the resemblance -phel-/-phil- bears to φιλεῖν (phileîn, “to love”) has led many to believe that this must originally be a Greek compound word. Based on this assumption, the first two letters have been identified with μή (mḗ, “not”), while -phisto-/-phosto- has been interpreted as a corruption of φωτο- (phōto-), the compositional form of φῶς (phôs, “light”). The name would thus mean \"not loving light\" which seems fitting for a devil. However, there are two major problems with this theory. Firstly, phōto- is a common and clearly recognizable morpheme in Greek, making it an unlikely candidate for corruption. Secondly, μή (mḗ) is not typically used in Ancient Greek name formation.\nA more credible explanation has been proposed by Julius Goebel. He focuses on the alternative form Mephistophiel, which appears in the Praxis Cabulae nigrae Doctoris Johannis Fausti magi celeberrimi (1612). He interprets mephist- as a disguised form of megist-, transliterating μέγιστος (mégistos, “greatest”), an epithet of Hermes in the title of Ἑρμῆς Τρισμέγιστος (Hermês Trismégistos, “thrice-greatest Hermes”) who was the guardian-god of the magicians, astrologers and alchemists. The second part, -ophiel, is interpreted as the proper name Ophiel, composed of ὄφις (óphis, “serpent”) and -ήλ (-ḗl), which is the Hebrew אֵל (“god, deity”). The derivation of demon names in -el from non-Hebrew bases was common in magic-books of the 16th and 17th century; other examples include Kyniel from Greek κύων (kúōn, “dog”) and Ariel from ariēs (“ram”).\nOphiel thus means \"serpent-god\" and refers to Hermes, who wields the κηρύκειον (kērúkeion), a staff entwined with two serpents. The appearance of Ophiel in the Wagnerbook and the Arbatel, where it is listed as another name for Mercury, supports this interpretation. Goebel therefore identifies Mephistopheles with Hermes Trismegistos and the planetary figure of Mercury.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "Mephisto",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephostopheles",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"dated"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephostophilus",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistophiles",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephis-Dolophus",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistophiel",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "Mephistopheles",
"name": "en-proper noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "name",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
36,
50
]
],
"ref": "1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 215:",
"text": "I let him run on, this papier-maché Mephistopheles, and it seemed to me that if I tried I could poke my forefinger through him, and find nothing inside but a little loose dirt, maybe.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
79,
93
]
],
"ref": "2007, “Videotape”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:",
"text": "When I'm at the pearly gates / This'll be on my videotape, my videotape / When Mephistopheles is just beneath / And he's reaching up to grab me",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The Devil to whom Faust sold his soul in the legend."
],
"links": [
[
"Devil",
"Devil"
],
[
"legend",
"legend"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɛ.fɪˈstɒ.fɪ.liːz/"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "mifistūfīlīs",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "مِفِسْتُوفِيلِيس"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "Mefistofeles",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Մեֆիստոֆելես"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Mefistòfil"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "Méifēisītuōfèilèsī",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "梅菲斯托費勒斯 /梅菲斯托费勒斯"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofeles"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mephistopheles"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Mefistofelo"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "Mefisto"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Méphistophélès"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "mepisṭopeli",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "მეფისტოფელი"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mephistopheles"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "Mefistofelís",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Μεφιστοφελής"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofele"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "Mefisutoferesu",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "メフィストフェレス"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "Mepiseutopelleseu",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"word": "메피스토펠레스"
},
{
"code": "mr",
"lang": "Marathi",
"roman": "mephisṭophīlīs",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "मेफिस्टोफीलीस"
},
{
"code": "oc",
"lang": "Occitan",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofeles"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistofeles"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistófeles"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "Mefistófelʹ",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Мефисто́фель"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Mefistófeles"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "Mefistófelʹ",
"sense": "Devil to whom Faust sold his soul",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Мефісто́фель"
}
],
"word": "Mephistopheles"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English eponyms",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals",
"English proper nouns",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 2 entries",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Arabic translations",
"Terms with Armenian translations",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Czech translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Esperanto translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Georgian translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Japanese translations",
"Terms with Korean translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Marathi translations",
"Terms with Occitan translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Ukrainian translations",
"en:Characters from folklore",
"en:European folklore",
"en:Human behaviour",
"en:Mythological figures",
"en:People"
],
"etymology_text": "Uncertain. The two-time occurrence of -ph- which is the Roman transliteration for Ancient Greek φ and of the termination -es which transliterates Ancient Greek -ης as in Aristoteles (Ἀριστοτέλης) along with the resemblance -phel-/-phil- bears to φιλεῖν (phileîn, “to love”) has led many to believe that this must originally be a Greek compound word. Based on this assumption, the first two letters have been identified with μή (mḗ, “not”), while -phisto-/-phosto- has been interpreted as a corruption of φωτο- (phōto-), the compositional form of φῶς (phôs, “light”). The name would thus mean \"not loving light\" which seems fitting for a devil. However, there are two major problems with this theory. Firstly, phōto- is a common and clearly recognizable morpheme in Greek, making it an unlikely candidate for corruption. Secondly, μή (mḗ) is not typically used in Ancient Greek name formation.\nA more credible explanation has been proposed by Julius Goebel. He focuses on the alternative form Mephistophiel, which appears in the Praxis Cabulae nigrae Doctoris Johannis Fausti magi celeberrimi (1612). He interprets mephist- as a disguised form of megist-, transliterating μέγιστος (mégistos, “greatest”), an epithet of Hermes in the title of Ἑρμῆς Τρισμέγιστος (Hermês Trismégistos, “thrice-greatest Hermes”) who was the guardian-god of the magicians, astrologers and alchemists. The second part, -ophiel, is interpreted as the proper name Ophiel, composed of ὄφις (óphis, “serpent”) and -ήλ (-ḗl), which is the Hebrew אֵל (“god, deity”). The derivation of demon names in -el from non-Hebrew bases was common in magic-books of the 16th and 17th century; other examples include Kyniel from Greek κύων (kúōn, “dog”) and Ariel from ariēs (“ram”).\nOphiel thus means \"serpent-god\" and refers to Hermes, who wields the κηρύκειον (kērúkeion), a staff entwined with two serpents. The appearance of Ophiel in the Wagnerbook and the Arbatel, where it is listed as another name for Mercury, supports this interpretation. Goebel therefore identifies Mephistopheles with Hermes Trismegistos and the planetary figure of Mercury.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "Mephisto",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephostopheles",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"dated"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephostophilus",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistophiles",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephis-Dolophus",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistophiel",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "?"
},
"expansion": "Mephistopheles",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
48,
62
]
],
"ref": "1989, Tim Smith, “Fast Robert”, in On Land and in the Sea, performed by Cardiacs:",
"text": "Poison in my idle mind makes quick work for the Mephistopheles, / Who quickly makes his excuses",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A fiendish person, especially one who tricks someone into following a destructive or disastrous course of action; a tempter."
],
"links": [
[
"fiendish",
"fiendish"
],
[
"destructive",
"destructive"
],
[
"disastrous",
"disastrous"
],
[
"course of action",
"course of action"
],
[
"tempter",
"tempter"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɛ.fɪˈstɒ.fɪ.liːz/"
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-Mephistopheles.wav.ogg"
}
],
"word": "Mephistopheles"
}
{
"derived": [
{
"word": "mephistophelisch"
}
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"tags": [
"genitive"
]
},
{
"form": "masculine strong",
"source": "declension",
"tags": [
"table-tags"
]
},
{
"form": "de-ndecl",
"source": "declension",
"tags": [
"inflection-template"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"source": "declension",
"tags": [
"nominative",
"singular"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"source": "declension",
"tags": [
"genitive",
"singular"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"source": "declension",
"tags": [
"dative",
"singular"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephistopheles",
"source": "declension",
"tags": [
"accusative",
"singular"
]
},
{
"form": "Mephisto",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "m,-"
},
"expansion": "Mephistopheles m (proper noun, strong, genitive Mephistopheles)",
"name": "de-proper noun"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"Me‧phis‧to‧phe‧les;"
],
"inflection_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "m,-.sg"
},
"name": "de-ndecl"
}
],
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"pos": "name",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"German entries with incorrect language header",
"German lemmas",
"German masculine nouns",
"German proper nouns",
"German uncountable nouns",
"Pages with 2 entries",
"Pages with entries",
"de:European folklore"
],
"glosses": [
"Mephistopheles"
],
"links": [
[
"Mephistopheles",
"#English"
]
],
"tags": [
"masculine",
"proper-noun",
"strong"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/mefɪsˈtoːfelɛs/"
},
{
"audio": "De-Mephistopheles.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4b/De-Mephistopheles.ogg/De-Mephistopheles.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/De-Mephistopheles.ogg"
}
],
"word": "Mephistopheles"
}
Download raw JSONL data for Mephistopheles meaning in All languages combined (15.1kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-05-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-05-01 using wiktextract (9a214a4 and 1b6da77). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.