devil
Meaningone who throws (slander) across
Common meaning: an evil spirit (once a slanderer)
- diathrough, apartLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 185 · scan
- bolto throw; a throwLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 593 · scan
‘through, apart’ + ‘to throw’ → devil
Worn-down word: devil does not split into English pieces. The tiles show the Greek parts of diabolos (dia, across + bol, throw), which wore down through Latin diabolus and Old English deofol to devil. Skeat scan
Journey through time
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek βάλλω; βολή ‘to throw; a throw’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry DEVIL, p. 164 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry DIABOLIC, DIABOLICAL, p. 164 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry SYMBOL, p. 619 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry PROBLEM, p. 468 · dictionary scan; Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry δια-βάλλω, p. 185 · dictionary scan; Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry διάβολος, p. 185 · dictionary scan; Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry σύμβολον, p. 759 · dictionary scan; Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry βάλλω, p. 593 · dictionary scan
Roots
- βάλλω; βολή Greek “to throw; a throw”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app