demon
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English demon, a borrowing from Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn (“lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). Doublet of daimon.
Pronunciation
Noun
demon (plural demons)
- An evil supernatural spirit.
- An evil spirit resident in or working for Hell; a devil. [from 10th c.]
- (now chiefly historical) A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity. [from 10th c.]
- A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child. [from 16th c.]
- A source (especially personified) of great evil or wickedness; a destructive feeling or character flaw. [from 17th c.]
- The demon of stupidity haunts me whenever I open my mouth.
- (in the plural) A person's fears or anxieties. [from 19th c.]
- 2013, The Guardian, 21 January:
- After a short spell on an adult psychiatric ward, she decided to find her own way to deal with her demons.
- 2013, The Guardian, 21 January:
- A neutral supernatural spirit.
- A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
- c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
- Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which keepes thee, is Noble, Couragious, high vnmatchable.
- 2000, Phillip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass:
- “You saw her. And I picked her up,” Lyra said, blushing, because of course it was a gross violation of manners to touch something so private as someone else's dæmon.
- (Greek mythology) A tutelary deity or spirit intermediate between the major Olympian gods and mankind, especially a deified hero or the entity which supposedly guided Socrates, telling him what not to do. [from 16th c.]
- A spirit not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity or supernatural being. [from 19th c.]
- A hypothetical entity with special abilities postulated for the sake of a thought experiment in philosophy or physics.
- 1874, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, “Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy” in Nature 9, 441-444:
- Let the orders now be that each demon is to stop all molecules from crossing his area in either direction except 100 coming from A, arbitrarily chosen to be let pass into B, and a greater number, having among them less energy but equal momentum, to cross from B to A.
- 1874, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, “Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy” in Nature 9, 441-444:
- A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
- Someone with great strength, passion or skill for a particular activity, pursuit etc.; an enthusiast. [from 19th c.]
- He’s a demon at the card tables.
- 2021 May 29, David Hytner, “Chelsea win Champions League after Kai Havertz stuns Manchester City”, in The Guardian[1]:
- Chelsea defended like demons to snuff out Manchester City but this was a perfectly calibrated triumph, built upon a structured attacking approach, choosing the right moments to transition, and illuminated by the smoothness of Havertz’s technique.
- (card games) A type of patience or solitaire (card game) played in the UK and/or US. [from 19th c.]
- Coordinate term: Canfield
- 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, page 89:
- ‘That's much the best feeling to have.’ She dealt out the first row of ‘demon’.
- Any of various hesperiid butterflies of the genera Notocrypta and Udaspes.
Usage notes
Meanings drawing on the neutral, ancient Greek conception now often distinguish themselves by the variant spellings daimon or daemon.
Synonyms
- (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
- (neutral spirit): genius, tutelary deity, see also Thesaurus:god and Thesaurus:spirit
Hyponyms
- (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
- (theoretical entity): Maxwell's demon
Derived terms
- bedemon
- confront one's demons
- demonagogue
- Demon core
- demon dialing
- demon duck of doom
- demoness
- demonette
- demonic
- demonical
- demonify
- demonish
- demonism
- demonist
- demonist
- demonize
- demonkin
- demonkind
- demonless
- demonlike
- demonlore
- demonography
- demonolatory
- demonology
- demonomachy
- demonomancy
- demonomaniac
- demonomist
- demonopathy
- demonship
- demonslayer
- demonspawn
- face one's demons
- half-demon
- like a demon
- nasal demon
- nondemon
- speed demon
Related terms
- demonkin
- agathodemon
- antidemonic
- archdemon
- cacodemon
- counterdemonic
- Demon core
- demon dialing
- demonagogue
- demonette
- demonhood
- demonian
- demonic, demonical
- demoniac, demoniacal
- demonifuge
- demonify
- demonish
- demonism
- demonist
- demonize
- demoness
- demonkind
- demonlike
- demonlore
- demonly
- demonry
- demonship
- demonocracy
- demonography
- demonographer
- demonolater
- demonolatry
- demonology
- demonomagy
- demonomancy
- demonomania
- demonomaniac
- demonomist
- demonomy
- demonopathy
- demonophobia
- eudemon
- half-demon
- Maxwell's demon
- nasal demon
- speed demon
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Anagrams
Dutch
Etymology
From Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
Noun
demon m (plural demonen or demons)
Finnish
Noun
demon
Anagrams
Latin
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈdeː.mon/, [ˈd̪eːmɔn]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈde.mon/, [ˈd̪ɛːmon]
Noun
(deprecated template usage) dēmon m
Middle English
Etymology
From Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn, from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn). Doublet of tyme (“time”).
Pronunciation
Noun
demon (plural demones)
Descendants
- English: demon
References
- “dēmōn, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-25.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).
Noun
demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demoner, definite plural demonene)
- a demon
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- “demon” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).
Noun
demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demonar, definite plural demonane)
- a demon
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- “demon” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).
Pronunciation
Noun
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Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- demon in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- demon in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Alternative forms
- dimon (regional, Moldova)
Etymology
Borrowed from Greek δαίμονας (daímonas), partly through the intermediate of (South) Slavic *demonь. Compare also Aromanian demun.
Pronunciation
Noun
demon m (plural demoni)
- demon
- (figuratively) a despicable person
Declension
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related terms
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
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Pronunciation
Noun
dèmōn m (Cyrillic spelling дѐмо̄н)
Declension
Derived terms
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːmən
- Rhymes:English/iːmən/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Greek mythology
- en:Card games
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *deh₂-
- en:People
- en:Skippers
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch nouns with lengthened vowel in the plural
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch terms with uncommon senses
- Finnish non-lemma forms
- Finnish noun forms
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin noun forms
- Middle English terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- Middle English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Middle English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Middle English doublets
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- enm:Religion
- enm:Theology
- Norwegian Bokmål terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns
- Polish terms borrowed from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛmɔn
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛmɔn/2 syllables
- Romanian terms borrowed from Greek
- Romanian terms derived from Greek
- Romanian terms derived from Slavic languages
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns