devil
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: 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.
Inflected forms:
form: devils
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: deviling
pos: verb
tags: US
participle
present
form: devilling
pos: verb
tags: UK
participle
present
form: deviled
pos: verb
tags: US
participle
past
form: deviled
pos: verb
tags: US
past
form: devilled
pos: verb
tags: UK
participle
past
form: devilled
pos: verb
tags: UK
past
form: davil
pos: verb
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: debbil
pos: verb
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
form: diuel
pos: verb
tags: alternative
archaic
dialectal
form: divel
pos: verb
tags: alternative
archaic
dialectal
form: divil
pos: verb
tags: alternative
archaic
dialectal
form: deuill
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: devel
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: devell
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: devill
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: diuell
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil.
pos: verb
gloss: To annoy or bother.
pos: verb
gloss: To work as a ‘devil’; to work for a lawyer or writer without fee or recognition.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To ghostwrite; to author while working as a ‘devil’.
pos: verb
examples: 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?
gloss: To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy
pos: verb
examples: […]; 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.
gloss: To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy:
pos: verb
gloss: To prepare (food) with spices, making it spicy:
pos: verb
examples: She's going to devil four dozen eggs for the picnic.
gloss: To shred fabric into its fibres for recycling, as in the production of mungo or shoddy.
pos: verb
examples: 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.
Related words: Al-Shaytaan
angel
daeva
demon
enemy
ghoul
jinn
Lucifer
nasnas
Satan
Derived words: deviled crab
devilled crab
deviled egg
devilled egg
deviled ham
devilled ham
devilled kidneys
devilled sausages
between the devil and the deep blue sea
devil bolt
devil seam
devil to pay
Translations:
lang: Dutch
word: peperen
lang: Finnish
word: pippuroida