demon

See also: démon, dēmon, dêmon, and demön

English

Alternative forms

• (now chiefly in reference to the ancient Greek spirit): daimon, daemon, dæmon

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.mən/
• Homophone: daemon

Noun

demon (plural demons)

1. An evil supernatural spirit.
   1. An evil spirit resident in or working for Hell; a devil. [from 10th c.]
   2. (now chiefly historical) A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity. [from 10th c.]
   3. A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child. [from 16th c.]
   4. 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.

   5. (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.

2. A neutral supernatural spirit.
   1. A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
      • 1616, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, II.3:

        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.

   2. (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.]
   3. A spirit not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity or supernatural being. [from 19th c.]
   4. An 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.

3. 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.

4. (UK, card games) A form of patience (known as Canfield in the US). [from 19th c.]
   • 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 89:

     ‘That's much the best feeling to have.’ She dealt out the first row of ‘demon’.

5. 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

Related terms

Related terms

• agathodemon
• antidemonic
• archdemon
• cacodemon
• counterdemonic
• demon dialing
• demonagogue
• demonhood
• demonian
  • demonianism
• demonic, demonical
  • demonically
• demoniac, demoniacal
  • demoniacally
• demonifuge
• demonify
• demonish
• demonism
• demonist
• demonize
  • demonization
• 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

evil spirit

• Albanian: djall (sq) m, shejtan (sq) m
• Amharic: ጋኔን (ganen)
• Arabic: شَيْطَان m (šayṭān), إِبْلِيس m (ʔiblīs)
• Armenian: դև (dew)
• Asturian: demoniu m
• Azerbaijani: iblis (az), şeytan (az), cin (az)
• Bashkir: шайтан (şaytan), иблис (iblis)
• Belarusian: бес m (bjes), дэ́ман m (déman), чорт m (čort)
• Bengali: দৈত্য (doityô), শয়তান (śôytan), ইবলিশ (iboliś)
• Bulgarian: де́мон (bg) m (démon)
• Burmese: နတ်ဆိုး (my) (nathcui:)
• Catalan: dimoni (ca), diable (ca)
• Chamicuro: pac̈hic̈hi, sojpayi
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 邪魔 (zh) (xiémó), 魔鬼 (zh) (móguǐ), 惡魔／恶魔 (zh) (èmó), 恶魔 (zh) (èmó), 妖魔 (zh) (yāomó)

• Classical Nahuatl: tzitzimītl
• Czech: démon, čert (cs) m
• Dalmatian: demun m
• Danish: dæmon c
• Dutch: demon (nl) m, demoon (nl) m
• Esperanto: demono
• Estonian: deemon (et)
• Finnish: demoni (fi), daimoni
• French: démon (fr) m
• Galician: demo (gl) m, demoño m
• Georgian: ავი სული (avi suli), ეშმაკი (ešmaḳi), დემონი (demoni)
• German: Dämon (de) m, Teufel (de) m
• Greek: δαίμονας (el) m (daímonas), δαιμόνιο (el) m (daimónio)

  Ancient: δαίμων m or f (daímōn), δαιμόνιον n (daimónion)

• Hebrew: שֵׁד m (shéd)
• Hindi: दानव (hi) m (dānav), दैत्य (hi) m (daitya), देव (hi) m (dev), शैतान (hi) m (śaitān), राक्षस (hi) m (rākṣas), इब्लीस m (iblīs)
• Hungarian: démon (hu)
• Indonesian: siluman (id)
• Irish: deamhan m
• Istriot: damognio m
• Italian: demone (it) m, demonio (it) m
• Japanese: 悪魔 (ja) (あくま, akuma), 鬼 (ja) (おに, oni), デーモン (dēmon), 妖魔 (ja) (ようま, yōma)
• Kazakh: әзәзіл (äzäzıl), жын (kk) (jyn), әбілет (äbılet), ібіліс (ıbılıs), иблис (iblis)
• Khmer: ទេត្យ (km) (tɛɛt), បិសាច (km) (bəysaac), ពីង (km) (piiŋ), របាល (km) (rɔbaal), អសុរា (a’so’raa)
• Korean: 데몬 (demon), 악귀 (ko) (akgwi) (惡鬼), 요마 (yoma), 악마 (ko) (angma)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دێو (dêw)

  Northern Kurdish: dêw (ku)

  Southern Kurdish: دێو (dêw)

• Kyrgyz: шайтан (ky) (şaytan), демон (demon), жин (ky) (jin), азезил (ky) (azezil), иблис (iblis)
• Lao: ຍັກ (nyak), ບໍຣະສາດ (bǭ ra sāt), ຜີ (phī), ພາຽ (phāi), ຣັກຂະສະ (rak kha sa), ສວງ (sūang), ສັກສາດ (sak sāt), ອະມະນຸດ (ʼa ma nut), ອະສຸລະ (ʼa su la), ປີສາດຮ້າຍ (pī sāt hāi), ຜີປະກຳ (phī pa kam), ຜີເສື້ອ (phī sư̄a)
• Latin: daemon (la) m, larva, larva
• Latvian: dēmons m, velns m
• Lithuanian: demonas (lt) m
• Luxembourgish: Dämon
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: демон m (demon)
• Malagasy: devoly (mg)
• Malay: raksasa (ms), syaitan, iblis
• Maltese: xitan m, mingħul m
• Manx: jouyl
• Maore Comorian: djini class 5/6
• Maori: tipua, tupua
• Moksha: демон (ďemon)
• Mongolian: бүг (mn) (büg), чөтгөр (mn) (čötgör)
• Nahuatl: tzitzimitl
• Navajo: chʼį́įdii
• Ngarrindjeri: muldarpi
• Ngazidja Comorian: djini class 5/6
• Norman: dêmon m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: demon m

  Nynorsk: demon m

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: бѣсъ m (běsŭ)

• Old Portuguese: demo, demonio, diaboo, diablo, diabre
• Persian: شیطان (fa) (šeytân), دیو (fa) (dêv), ابلیس (fa) (eblis)
• Polish: demon (pl) m, czort (pl) m
• Portuguese: demónio (pt) m (Portugal), demônio (pt) m (Brazil)
• Quechua: supay (qu)
• Romanian: demon (ro) m
• Russian: бес (ru) m (bes), де́мон (ru) m (démon), чёрт (ru) m (čort), шайта́н (ru) m (šajtán) (Muslim)
• Sanskrit: असुर (sa) m (asura), राक्षस (sa) m (rākṣasa), दैत्य (sa) m (daitya)
• Santali: ᱵᱷᱩᱛ (bhut)
• Scottish Gaelic: deamhan m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: демон m

  Roman: demon (sh) m

• Slovak: démon, čert (sk) m
• Slovene: demon (sl) m
• Spanish: demonio (es)
• Sumerian: 𒀉𒉺 (Á.PA)
• Swahili: pepo (sw)
• Swedish: demon (sv) c
• Tagalog: demonyo (tl)
• Tajik: шайтон (tg) (šayton), дев (dev), иблис (iblis)
• Tatar: шайтан (tt) (şaytan), иблис (tt) (iblis), җен (tt) (cen)
• Thai: มาร (th) (maan), ปิศาจ (th) (bpì-sàat), ภูต (th) (pûut), มาห์ (th) (maa), อสูร (th) (à-sǔun), เปรต (th) (bprèet), แทตย์ (th) (tɛ̂ɛt), ปีศาจร้าย, อสุรกาย (th) (à-sù-rá-gaai), ภูติผีปีศาจ, ภูตผีปิศาจ
• Turkish: demon, iblis (tr), şeytan (tr), cin (tr)
• Turkmen: şeýtan, iblis
• Ukrainian: біс (uk) m (bis), де́мон m (démon), чорт m (čort)
• Urdu: دیو m (dev), شیطان m (śaitān), ابلیس (ur) m (iblīs)
• Uyghur: شەيتان (sheytan), ئىبلىس (iblis)
• Uzbek: shayton (uz), jin (uz), iblis (uz)
• Vietnamese: quỷ (vi), ma quỷ (vi), yêu ma (vi), ma quái (vi), ác quỷ
• Welsh: cythraul (cy)
• West Frisian: koarthakke
• Yoruba: eṣu, èṣù

false god, Satanic divinity

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 惡魔／恶魔 (zh) (èmó), 恶魔 (zh) (èmó)

• French: diable (fr) m
• Georgian: დემონი (demoni), ეშმაკი (ešmaḳi)
• German: Dämon (de) m
• Greek: δαίμονας (el) m (daímonas), δαιμόνιο (el) m (daimónio)

  Ancient: δαίμων m or f (daímōn), δαιμόνιον n (daimónion)

• Haitian Creole: dyab
• Hebrew: שָׂטָן (he) m (satán)
• Hindi: राक्षस (hi) m (rākṣas)
• Indonesian: iblis (id), setan (id), dajal (id)
• Italian: Il Demonio m
• Japanese: 悪魔 (ja) (あくま, akuma), 鬼神 (きしん、 kisin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Moksha: демон (ďemon)
• Ngazidja Comorian: djini class 5/6
• Persian: شیطان (fa) (šaytân), دیو (fa) (dêv), ابلیس (fa) (eblis)
• Portuguese: demónio (pt) m (Portugal), demônio (pt) m (Brazil)
• Romanian: drac (ro) m, драк m (drac)
• Russian: бес (ru) m (bes), де́мон (ru) m (démon), чёрт (ru) m (čort)
• Sanskrit: राक्षस (sa) m (rākṣasa)
• Scottish Gaelic: deamhan m
• Swahili: pepo (sw)
• Swedish: demon (sv) c, djävul (sv) c
• Thai: มาร (th) (maan)

inner spirit or genius

• Hebrew: מגיד m (magid)
• Italian: demonio (it) m
• Portuguese: demónio (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: дух (ru) m (dux)
• Swahili: pepo (sw)

tutelary deity — see tutelary deity

person with great energy or skill, enthusiast

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 惡魔／恶魔 (zh) (èmó), 恶魔 (zh) (èmó)

• Hebrew: שֵׁד (he) m (shéd)
• Hindi: राक्षस (hi) m (rākṣas)
• Italian: demonio (it) m
• Japanese: 鬼 (ja) (おに, oni), 達人 (tatsujin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: (figuratively) demon m
• Sanskrit: राक्षस (sa) m (rākṣasa)
• Swahili: shetani (sw)
• Swedish: baddare (sv) c, överdängare c
• Telugu: రాక్షసుడు (te) (rākṣasuḍu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Estonian: deemon (1, 2, 3, 4)
• (deprecated template usage) Latin: daemon (1, 2)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Marathi: ^{(please verify)} राक्षस m (rākṣas)
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} þyrs

Anagrams

• Emond, monde, moned

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Dutch

Etymology

From Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: de‧mon

Noun

demon m (plural demonen or demons)

1. demon

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Finnish

Noun

demon

1. (deprecated template usage) genitive singular of demo

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Latin

Alternative forms

• dēmum

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈdeː.mon/, [ˈd̪eːmɔn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈde.mon/, [ˈd̪ɛːmon]

Noun

(deprecated template usage) dēmon m

1. accusative singular of dēmos

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Middle English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn, from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn). Doublet of tyme (“time”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛːˈmɔːn/

Noun

demon (plural demones)

1. demon, devil, malicious spirit
2. (rare) daimon, helpful spirit

Descendants

• English: demon

References

• “dēmōn (n.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-25.

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).

Noun

demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demoner, definite plural demonene)

1. a demon

Derived terms

• demonisere

Related terms

• demonisk

References

• “demon” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).

Noun

demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demonar, definite plural demonane)

1. a demon

Derived terms

• demonisere

Related terms

• demonisk

References

• “demon” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.mɔn/

• audio:

  (file)

Noun

1. demon

Declension

Declension of demon

	singular	plural
nominative	demon	demony
genitive	demona	demonów
dative	demonowi	demonom
accusative	demona	demony
instrumental	demonem	demonami
locative	demonie	demonach
vocative	demonie	demony

Derived terms

• demoniczny, demonicznie
• demonizować
• demonologia

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Romanian

Alternative forms

• dimon (regional, Moldova)

Etymology

Borrowed from , partly through the intermediate of (South) Slavic *demonь. Compare also Aromanian demun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdemon]

Noun

demon m (plural demoni)

1. demon
2. (figuratively) a despicable person

Declension

Declension of demon

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) demon	demonul	(niște) demoni	demonii
genitive/dative	(unui) demon	demonului	(unor) demoni	demonilor
vocative	demonule		demonilor

Synonyms

• diavol
• drac

Antonyms

• înger
• sfânt

Related terms

• demonic

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from .

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /děmoːn/
• Hyphenation: de‧mon

Noun

dèmōn m (Cyrillic spelling дѐмо̄н)

1. demon

Declension

Declension of demon

	singular	plural
nominative	dèmōn	demoni
genitive	demóna	demona
dative	demonu	demonima
accusative	demona	demone
vocative	demone	demoni
locative	demonu	demonima
instrumental	demonom	demonima

Derived terms

• dèmōnskī