What does devil mean?
Definitions for devil
ˈdɛv əldev·il
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word devil.
Princeton's WordNet
Satan, Old Nick, Devil, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the Tempter, Prince of Darkness(noun)
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
devil, fiend, demon, daemon, daimon(noun)
an evil supernatural being
devil, deuce, dickens(noun)
a word used in exclamations of confusion
"what the devil"; "the deuce with it"; "the dickens you say"
hellion, heller, devil(noun)
a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man)
"he chased the young hellions out of his yard"
monster, fiend, devil, demon, ogre(verb)
a cruel wicked and inhuman person
annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at, irritate, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil(verb)
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
"Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"
devil(verb)
coat or stuff with a spicy paste
"devilled eggs"
Wiktionary
devil(Noun)
A creature of hell.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
(the devil or the Devil) The chief devil; Satan.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
The bad part of the conscience; the opposite to the angel.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
A wicked or naughty person, or one who harbors reckless, spirited energy, especially in a mischievous way; usually said of a young child.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
A thing that is awkward or difficult to understand or do.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
Hell.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
A person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him, usually in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
A dust devil.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
An evil or erroneous entity.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Verb)
To annoy or bother; to bedevil.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Verb)
To work as a 'devil'; to work for a lawyer or writer without fee or recognition.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Verb)
To grill with cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Verb)
To finely grind cooked ham or other meat with spices and condiments.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Verb)
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.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
devil(Noun)
barren, unproductive and unused, as in devil strip.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
Devil(ProperNoun)
The chief devil; Satan.
Etymology: From deofol, from διάβολος, also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן, satán), from διαβάλλω, literally “to throw across”, from διά + βάλλω. The Old English word was probably adopted under influence of Latin diabolus (itself from the Greek). Other Germanic languages adopted the word independently: compare Dutch duivel, Low German düvel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul, Old Swedish diævul, Old Norse djǫfull).
Wikipedia
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force.It is difficult to specify a particular definition of any complexity that will cover all of the traditions, beyond that it is a manifestation of evil. It is meaningful to consider the devil through the lens of each of the cultures and religions that have the devil as part of their mythos.The history of this concept intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art and literature, maintaining a validity, and developing independently within each of the traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names — Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles — and attributes: It is portrayed as blue, black, or red; It is portrayed as having horns on its head, and without horns, and so on. The idea of the devil has been taken seriously often, but not always, for example when devil figures are used in advertising and on candy wrappers.
Webster Dictionary
Devil(noun)
the Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(noun)
an evil spirit; a demon
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(noun)
a very wicked person; hence, any great evil
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(noun)
an expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(noun)
a dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(noun)
a machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(verb)
to make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Devil(verb)
to grill with Cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper
Etymology: [AS. defol, deful; akin to G. eufel, Goth. diabalus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. the devil, the slanderer, fr. to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; across + to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
Freebase
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions, myths and cultures to be a supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly, ranging from being an effective opposite force to the creator god, locked in an eons long struggle for human souls on what may seem even terms, to being a comical figure of fun or an abstract aspect of the individual human condition. While mainstream Judaism contains no overt concept of a devil, Christianity and Islam have variously regarded the Devil as a rebellious fallen angel or demon that tempts humans to sin, if not commit evil deeds himself. In these religions – particularly during periods of division or external threat – the Devil has assumed more of a dualistic status commonly associated with heretics, infidels, and other unbelievers. As such, the Devil is seen as an allegory that represents a crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom and enlightenment. In mainstream Christianity, God and the Devil are usually portrayed as fighting over the souls of humans, with the Devil seeking to lure people away from God and into Hell. The Devil commands a force of evil spirits, commonly known as demons. The Hebrew Bible describes the Adversary as an angel who instigates tests upon humankind. Many other religions have a trickster or tempter figure that is similar to the Devil. Modern conceptions of the Devil include the concept that it symbolizes humans' own lower nature or sinfulness.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Devil
dev′l, v.t. (cook.) to season highly and broil.—v.i. to perform another man's drudgery (esp. to devil for a barrister).
Devil
dev′l, n. the supreme spirit of evil, Satan: any evil spirit: a false god: a very wicked person: a fellow, as in 'Poor devil:' an expletive, in 'What the devil,' &c.—ns. Dev′ildom; Dev′iless; Dev′ilet; Dev′il-fish, a name for the fishing-frog or angler, for the giant-ray of the United States, and for other large and ugly fishes; Dev′il-in-the-bush, a garden flower, also called Love-in-a-mist.—adj. Dev′ilish, fiendish, malignant.—adv. (coll.) very: exceedingly.—adv. Dev′ilishly.—ns. Dev′ilism; Dev′ilkin.—adj. Dev′il-may-care, reckless, audacious.—ns. Dev′ilment; Dev′il-on-the-neck, an old instrument of torture; Dev′ilry; Dev′ilship; Dev′iltry; Dev′il-wor′ship, the worship of the devil, or of devils; Dev′il-wor′shipper.—Devil a bit, not at all; Devil of a mess, a very bad mess.—Devil's advocate, a name given to the Promoter of the Faith, an advocate at the papal court, whose duty it is to propose all reasonable objections against a person's claims to canonisation; Devil's bit, a popular name for scabious; Devil's books, playing-cards; Devil's coach-horse, a large dark-coloured beetle; Devil's dozen, thirteen (like baker's dozen); Devil's dung, a popular name for asafœtida; Devil's dust, shoddy made by a machine called the devil; Devil's own, a name given to the 88th Regiment in the Peninsular war, as also to the Inns of Court volunteers; Devil's snuff-box, the puff-ball, a kind of fungus; Devil's tattoo (see Tattoo); Devil to pay, serious trouble ahead—said to be from the difficulty of paying, or caulking, an awkward and inaccessible seam in a ship.—Cartesian devil (see Cartesian); Printer's devil, the youngest apprentice in a printing-office: a printer's errand-boy; Tasmanian devil, the ursine dasyure, a Tasmanian carnivore.—Play the devil with, to bring to utter ruin. [A.S. deóful, deófol—L. diabolus—Gr. diabolos, from diaballein, to throw across, to slander, from dia, across, and ballein, to throw; cf. Ger. teufel, Fr. diable, It. diavolo, Sp. diablo.]
The Roycroft Dictionary
devil
A god who has been bounced for conduct unbecoming a gentleman.
The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
DEVIL
An old rascal mentioned in the Bible, now reported engaged to Mary McLane.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
devil
A sort of priming made by damping and bruising gunpowder.
Rap Dictionary
devil(noun)
Satan, Lucifer
devil(noun)
Anyone who is evil or acts evil (Crosses racial/class/creed barriers)
devil(noun)
Your Enemies/Foes An enemy, used as a term for white people. Comparable to a term like the Man. The devil made me do it -- Paris (The Devil Made Me Do It). A better example comes from Da Lench Mob-- "Buck the devil, buck the devil, buck the devil BOOM"
Who Was Who?
Devil
See Old Nic.
British National Corpus
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'devil' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3675
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'devil' in Nouns Frequency: #1855
Anagrams for devil »
lived
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of devil in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of devil in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of devil in a Sentence
There's a certain risk that political ambition trips over bureaucratic complexities, there is this 50-odd-page document, which still contains many areas of disagreement. That stands between the beginning of the Paris conference and a successful outcome at the end. Very often at these conferences, the devil is in the detail.
These days, the wages of sin depend on what kind of deal you make with the devil.
William Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1 scene 3:
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
He removed his wig, made hand gestures. It’s just a very large fear of mine, his damn wig. Him and his hair reminds me of the Tasmanian Devil hair. I truly and genuinely have a large fear of wigs now. It’s a genuine fear. I have nightmares.
He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasteth of it, is a devil.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for devil
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- duiwelAfrikaans
- شيطان, إبليسArabic
- şeytanAzerbaijani
- бес, чорт, д'ябалBelarusian
- дявол, гявол, сатана, безпокоя, измъчвамBulgarian
- শয়তানBengali
- dimoni, diableCatalan, Valencian
- ďábel, čert, satanCzech
- дїаволъOld Church Slavonic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian
- diafolWelsh
- djævlen, djævel, fanden, satanDanish
- Teufel, Satan, TeufelinGerman
- διάβολος, δαίμονας, ζιζάνιοGreek
- diablo, SatanoEsperanto
- diabloSpanish
- kurivaimEstonian
- ابلیس, دیو, اهریمن, شیطانPersian
- paskiainen, piru, perkele, Paholainen, pirullinen tilanne, helvetti, sielunvihollinen, saatana, pirullinen tehtävä, pippuroida, ärsyttää, suututtaaFinnish
- djevulFaroese
- type, Diable, SatanFrench
- duvelWestern Frisian
- diabhalIrish
- શયતાનGujarati
- שד, שטן, יצר הרע, עזאזלHebrew
- शैतानHindi
- ördögHungarian
- դևArmenian
- iblis, setanIndonesian
- fjandinn, fjárinn, satan, fjandi, djöfull, ári, andskotinn, kölski, skrattinn, andskoti, skratti, fjári, djöfullinn, djöflast í, plága, þjáIcelandic
- diavoloItalian
- שָׂטָןHebrew
- 悪魔, 鬼, 悪鬼Japanese
- ეშმაკიGeorgian
- әбілет, жын, шайтан, сайтанKazakh
- សាតាំង, បិសាចKhmer
- ದೆವ್ವದ, ದೆವ್ವKannada
- 惡魔, 악귀, 악마, 惡鬼Korean
- dyowlCornish
- азезил, шайтанKyrgyz
- diabolusLatin
- Däiwel, SatanLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- ປີສາດLao
- velnias, šėtonasLithuanian
- velnsLatvian
- devolyMalagasy
- ѓавол, враг, ѓаволштина, сатана, шејтанMacedonian
- ചെകുത്താൻMalayalam
- буг, чөтгөрMongolian
- शैतान, शैतानीMarathi
- iblisMalay
- xitan, xitanaMaltese
- ငရဲမင်း, နတ်ဆိုး, ငရဲသားBurmese
- duivel, hard, noot, duvel, deugniet, verduiveld, beduvelen, peperen, pesten, plagenDutch
- djevelNorwegian
- bies, czart, diabeł, szatan, czortPolish
- diabo, Satã, SatanásPortuguese
- supayQuechua
- diavelRomansh
- satan, drac, diavolRomanian
- дьявол, бес, шайтан, чёрт, сатанаRussian
- diàvulu, diàbulu, diàuluSardinian
- ђаво, vrag, đavo, враг, ђавао, đavaoSerbo-Croatian
- čert, diabolSlovak
- vrag, hudičSlovene
- dreq, djall, shejtanAlbanian
- djävul, Satan, Hin håle, jävel, Djävulen, jäkelSwedish
- ibilisi, shetaniSwahili
- பேய், பிசாசுTamil
- దయ్యము, డెవిల్Telugu
- иблис, шайтонTajik
- ซาตาน, ปีศาจThai
- şeýtanTurkmen
- İblis, şeytanTurkish
- чорт, біс, дияволUkrainian
- شیطانUrdu
- shayton, iblisUzbek
- ma, 魔, 鬼, quỷ, ác quỷVietnamese
- hidiab, diab, devel, diabälan, hidiabälan, jidiabälan, jidiab, el satanasVolapük
- dialeWalloon
- שׂטן, טײַוול, טייַוולYiddish
- 魔鬼Chinese
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"devil." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 21 Apr. 2021. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/devil>.