deofol

Old English

Yfeles Orþanc (Dēofles anlīcnes sēo sume menn āwrǣnþ)

Alternative forms

• dēoful, dīoful, dīofol

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *diubul [ˈdiu̯.βul], from Latin diabolus. Cognate with Old Frisian diōvel, Old Saxon diuƀal, Old High German tiufal. The Old High German word, whose expected form would be *tiubal, might have adopted its -f- by association with tiof (“deep”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈde͜oː.fol/, [ˈde͜oː.vol]

Noun

dēofol n

1. the Devil, Satan

   Þone dēofol man mæġ ġefōn, ac hē hine ne mæġ lange healdan.

   You can catch the Devil, but you can't hold him for long.

2. a demon
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "Sexigesima Sunday"

     Dēoflu sind fuglas ġeċīeġedu for þon þe hīe flēogaþ ġeond þās lyft unġesewenlīċe, swā swā fuglas dōþ ġesewenlīċe.

     Demons are called birds because they fly through the air invisibly, just as birds do visibly.

Usage notes

• This word can sometimes be masculine in the singular, though it is almost always neuter in the plural.
• In the sense "THE Devil", i.e. Satan, it can be used either with or without a definite article.

Declension

Declension of dēofol (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	dēofol	dēoflu
accusative	dēofol	dēoflu
genitive	dēofles	dēofla
dative	dēofle	dēoflum

Derived terms

• dēofolġield
• dēofollīċ
• dēofolsēoc

Descendants

• Middle English: devel, deovel, deevel, devil, dyvel, devul, devyl, devell, devyll, deul, dewel, deyle, devull, dele
  • English: devil (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: deil, deel, deevil
  • Yola: deevil, deel (syncopated)