Devil
Devil , noun
[Anglo-Saxon deófol, deóful; akin to German teufel, Gothic diabaúlus; all from Latin diabolus the devil, Greek dia`bolos the devil, the slanderer, from diaba`llw to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; dia` across + ba`llw to throw, let fall, fall; compare Sanskrit gal to fall. Compare Diabolic.]
1.
The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind.
[Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil.
That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.
2.
An evil spirit; a demon.
A dumb man possessed with a devil.
3.
A very wicked person; hence, any great evil.
That devil Glendower.
The devil drunkenness.
Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
4.
An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [Low]
The devil a puritan that he is,... but a timepleaser.
The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there.
5.
(Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.
Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron.
6.
(Manufacturing) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc.
Collocations (14)
Blue devils , See under Blue.
Cartesian devil , See under Cartesian.
Devil bird (Zoology) , one of two or more South African drongo shrikes (Edolius retifer, and Edolius remifer), believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery.
Devil may care , reckless, defiant of authority; -- used adjectively. — Longfellow
Devil's apron (Botany) , the large kelp (Laminaria saccharina, and Laminaria longicruris) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron.
Devil's coachhorse (Zoology) , (a) The black rove beetle (Ocypus olens). [English] (b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect (Prionotus cristatus); the wheel bug. [United States]
Devil's fingers or Devil's hand (Zoology) , the common British starfish (Asterias rubens); -- also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [Provincial English, Irish & Scottish]
Devil's riding-horse (Zoology) , the American mantis (Mantis Carolina).
The Devil's tattoo , a drumming with the fingers or feet. Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels.
Devil worship , worship of the power of evil; -- still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power.
Printer's devil , the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer.
Tasmanian devil (Zoology) , a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania (Dasyurus ursinus syn. Diabolus ursinus).
To play devil with , to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]
devil , transitive verb
1.
To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil.
2.
To grill with Cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper.
A deviled leg of turkey.