daemon
- 1A computer program that runs quietly in the background, with no screen or window for you to control it.
Like a helper working in the back room of a store: always there, but you never see them.
The print daemon waits quietly until someone sends a file to the printer.
A daemon keeps checking for new mail even when the app is closed.
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- 2Another spelling of demon: an evil spirit.
In the story, a daemon tempted the knight to abandon his quest.
She drew a fierce daemon with horns and wings for the book cover.
UsageFor an evil spirit, demon is clearer.
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- 3A lesser god or spirit in old myths and beliefs, not as powerful as the main gods.
Like a small spirit who looks after one place or person, instead of a big, powerful god.
The ancient Greeks believed a daemon could guide a person through life.
Each spring and grove was said to have its own daemon watching over it.
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- 4A force inside someone that drives them to create, and that often brings them pain too.
Like a voice in your head that won't let you rest until you make something.
Writing the novel felt like wrestling with a daemon that gave her no peace.
His daemon pushed him to paint late into every night.
UsagePeople wrestle with a daemon or are driven by it.
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- 5An idea shown as if it were a living being or creature.
Like drawing a feeling as a monster so people can picture it.
In the comic, greed appears as a hungry daemon chasing the hero.
The writer turned fear into a daemon that followed the children everywhere.
Practice
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Origins
From Latin daemōn meaning a guardian god, which came from Ancient Greek daímōn.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- English daemon comes from Latin daemōn, meaning a guardian god. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin daemōn came from Ancient Greek daímōn. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from the idea of Maxwell's demon. The story that it stands for "disk and execution monitor" is a made-up explanation added later.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The computing term daemon originates in the idea of Maxwell's demon. en.wiktionary.org
- The expansion disk and execution monitor is an incorrect explanation invented after the term was adopted. en.wikipedia.org