Beelzebub

See also: Beëlzebub

English

Alternative forms

• Baalzebub, Belzebuth, Beëlzebub, Beelzebul

Etymology

First attested as Old English Belzebub, from Latin Beelzebūb, the Vulgate's form of Ancient Greek Βεελζεβούλ (Beelzeboúl), from Hebrew בעל זבוב (ba‘al-z'vúv, “fly-lord”), mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 1 as “the god of Ekron”.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /biːˈɛlzɪbʌb/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbilzɪbʌb/

Proper noun

Beelzebub

1. (biblical) A Canaanite deity worshipped at Ekron.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 12:24, column 1:

     But when the Phariſees heard it, they ſaid, This fellow doeth not caſt out deuils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the deuils.

2. (Christianity) Satan, the Devil.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:Satan

   • 1975, Freddie Mercury (lyrics and music), “Bohemian Rhapsody”, in A Night at the Opera, performed by Queen:

     Mamma mia, let me go / Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!

Related terms

• Baal

Translations

a Semitic deity, another name for the Devil

• Aghwan: 𐔱𐔴𐔾𐔵𐔴𐔱𐕒𐕡𐔾 (belzebul)
• Arabic: بَعْل زَبُوب m (baʕl zabūb), بَعْلْزَبُول m (baʕlzabūl)
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܒܥܠܕܒܒܐ

• Armenian: Բեհեղզեբուղ (Beheġzebuġ)
• Basque: Beltzebu
• Bengali: বাইলজাবাব (bailjabab)
• Bulgarian: Велзеву́л m (Velzevúl)
• Catalan: Belzebú m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 別西卜／别西卜 (Biéxībǔ), 巴力西卜 (Bālìxībǔ), 貝爾則步／贝尔则步 (Bèi'ěrzébù) (Catholic)

• Dutch: Beëlzebub (nl) m
• Esperanto: Belzebubo
• French: Belzébuth (fr) m
• German: Beelzebub (de) m
• Greek: βελζεβούλ (el) m (velzevoúl)

  Ancient: Βεελζεβούλ m (Beelzeboúl)

• Hebrew: בַּעַל זְבוּב m (bá'al zvuv)
• Italian: Belzebù m
• Kazakh: Белзебүл (Belzebül)
• Macedonian: Велзевул m (Velzevul)
• Portuguese: Belzebu m
• Russian: Вельзеву́л (ru) m (Velʹzevúl)
• Spanish: Belcebú (es) m
• Swedish: Belsebub (sv)
• Thai: บีเอลซิบับ
• Turkish: Baalzevul
• Turkmen: Beýelzebul
• Welsh: Beelsebwl

See also

• lord of the flies

Further reading

• “Beelzebub”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Beelzebub”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

German

Alternative forms

• Beelzebul

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Beelzebub m (strong, genitive Beelzebubes or Beelzebubs or Beelzebub, plural Beelzebube)

1. (singular only, Christianity, Judaism) Beelzebub
   • 1995, “Über Sex kann man nur auf Englisch singen”, in Digital ist Besser, performed by Tocotronic:

     Doch gibt's ein Verlangen zu beschreiben / Den Teufel mit dem Beelzebub vertreiben

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. demon, devil

Declension

Declension of Beelzebub [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Beelzebub	die	Beelzebube
genitive	eines	des	Beelzebubes, Beelzebubs, Beelzebub	der	Beelzebube
dative	einem	dem	Beelzebub, Beelzebube1	den	Beelzebuben
accusative	einen	den	Beelzebub	die	Beelzebube

¹Now rare, see notes.

Latin

Alternative forms

• Beelzebul

Etymology

Translating Ancient Greek Βεελζεβούλ (Beelzeboúl) and Biblical Hebrew בעל זבוב (Ba‘al-z'būb, “fly-lord”); perhaps a corruption of Beelzebul, meaning Lord of the High Place, with -bul altered to -bub to change the meaning to Lord of the Flies.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /beˈel.ze.bub/, [beˈɛɫ̪d̪͡z̪ɛbʊb]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /beˈel.d͡ze.bub/, [beˈɛld̪͡z̪ebub]

Proper noun

Beelzebub m (indeclinable)

1. (biblical) the god of the Philistine city of Ekron.
2. (derogatory) Beelzebul

References

• “Beelzebub”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Beelzebub in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.