devil

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁
Proto-Indo-European *dwísder.
Ancient Greek διά (diá)
Ancient Greek δια- (dia-)
Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der.
Ancient Greek βᾰ́λλω (bắllō)
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, dēoful, from earlier dīobul (“devil”), 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.


devil

(theology) An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.

(folklore) A fictional image of a man, usually red or orange in skin color; with a set of horns on his head, a pointed goatee and a long tail and carrying a pitchfork; that represents evil and portrayed to children in an effort to discourage bad behavior.

The devil in me wants to let him suffer.

The bad part of the conscience; the opposite to the angel.

Those two kids are devils in a toy store.

A wicked or naughty person, or one who harbors reckless, spirited energy, especially in a mischievous way; usually said of a young child.

That math problem was a devil.

A thing that is awkward or difficult to understand or do.

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.

(euphemistic, with an article, as an intensifier) Hell.

A person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him, usually in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil.

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.

2010, Andrea Levy, The Long Song, Tinder Press (2017), page 381:

(India) A poltergeist that haunts printing works.

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.

1877, H. F. Blandford, Indian Meteorologist's Vade-mecum, page 140:

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[.]

1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XII, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 114 footnote:

devil strip

(dialectal, in compounds) A barren, unproductive and unused area.

Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron.

1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

(cooking) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.

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.

1918, Henry J. Spooner, Wealth from Waste: Elimination of Waste A World Problem, George Routledge & Sons, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 200:

A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc., as used in the production of mungo or shoddy.

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.

1999, Julia Leigh, The Hunter, Faber & Faber 2012, p. 32

In the 1800s, for example, workers at a wool company were scared that the devils would attack their sheep.

2008, Joyce L. Markovics, Tasmanian Devil: Nighttime Scavenger, page 8:

(cycling, slang) An endurance event where riders who fall behind are periodically eliminated.

(nautical) Ellipsis of devil seam.: The seam between garboard strake and the keel (a seam on wooden boats)

devil seam

better the devil you know than the devil you don't know

better the devil you know than the one you don't know

devil is beating his wife and marrying his daughter

he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon

the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know

the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know

Tok Pisin: tewel

→ Chuukese: tefin

verduiveld

euphemistically, with an article: Hell (as an intensifier)


devil

To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil.

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.

1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 401:

To work as a ‘devil’; to work for a lawyer or writer without fee or recognition.

[…]; 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.

1912, Stephen Leacock, “The Hostelry of Mr. Smith”, in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, page 28:

To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy:

To grill with cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper.

To finely grind cooked ham or other meat with spices and condiments.

She's going to devil four dozen eggs for the picnic.

To prepare a sidedish of shelled halved boiled eggs to whose extracted yolks are added condiments and spices, which mixture then is placed into the halved whites to be served.

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.

To shred fabric into its fibres for recycling, as in the production of mungo or shoddy.

en-verb

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

devils (present singular third-person)
deviling (US participle present)
devilling (participle present)
deviled (US participle past)
deviled (US past)
devilled (participle past)
devilled (past)