devil

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[edit] English

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[edit] Etymology

From Old English dēofol, from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diabolos), accuser, slanderer), also as "Satan" (in Jewish/Christian usage, translating Biblical Hebrew שטן), from διαβάλλειν ‘to slander’, literally ‘to throw across’, from διά ‘through, across’ + βάλλειν ‘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 Dutch duivel, German Teufel, Swedish djävul (older: djefvul).

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

Singular
devil

Plural
devils

devil (plural devils)

  1. (theology) A creature of hell.
  2. (theology) (the devil or the Devil) The chief devil; Satan.
  3. The bad part of the conscience; the opposite to the angel.
    • The devil in me wants to let him suffer.
  4. A wicked or naughty person, or one who harbors reckless, spirited energy, especially in a mischievous way; usually said of a young child.
    • Those two kids are devils in a toy store.
  5. A thing that is awkward or difficult to understand or do.
    • That math problem was a devil.
  6. (euphemistically, with an article, as an intensifier) Hell.
    • 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.
  7. A person, especially a man; used to express a particular opinion of him, usually in the phrases poor devil and lucky devil.
  8. A dust devil.
  9. (religion, Christian Science) An evil or erroneous entity.

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to devil

Third person singular
devils

Simple past
deviled or devilled

Past participle
[[deviled or devilled]]

Present participle
deviling or devilling

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

  1. To annoy or bother; to bedevil.
  2. To grill with cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper.
  3. To finely grind cooked ham or other meat with spices and condiments.
  4. To prepare a sidedish of shelled halved boiled eggs to whose extracted yokes are added condiments and spices, which mixture then is placed into the halved whites to be served.
    • She's going to devil four dozen eggs for the picnic.

[edit] Usage notes

  • UK usage doubles the l in the inflected forms "devilled" and "devilling"; US usage generally does not.

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[edit] See also

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