# devil

Pronunciation: say "DEV-uhl" /ˈdɛvəl/

## Proper noun

1. In theology, Satan: the chief of all the devils.
   - Simple: Satan, the leader of all the devils.
   - _In the legend, a desperate musician sells his soul to the Devil for fame._
   - _Medieval theologians debated whether the Devil could act without God's permission._

## Noun

2. An evil supernatural being seen as the embodiment of a hostile, destructive force.
   - Simple: An evil being that people imagine as the source of harm and bad things.
   - _Believers spoke of a devil whose only aim was to corrupt the faithful._
   - _Ancient texts describe a devil locked in eternal struggle against the divine._
3. A wicked or naughty person, or someone full of reckless, spirited energy, often said of a lively young child.
   - Simple: A naughty or mischievous person, often a lively child who loves to cause trouble.
   - _The twins are sweet, but the older one is a little devil._
   - _He grinned like a devil who had just gotten away with something._
4. A cartoonish image of a red or orange man with horns, a pointed goatee, a long tail, and a pitchfork, used to represent evil and discourage children from misbehaving.
   - Simple: A made-up red figure with horns, a tail, and a pitchfork, used to scare children away from bad behavior.
   - _Above the warning sign, a horned devil leered down at passersby._
   - _Her costume turned her into a tiny devil, pitchfork and all._
5. A person, especially a man, referred to with a particular feeling about him, most often in the expressions 'poor devil' and 'lucky devil'.
   - Simple: A man you feel sorry for, or one you think is very lucky.
   - _Some poor devil had to clean up the whole mess alone._
   - _She married a millionaire, the lucky devil._
6. A carnivorous marsupial native to Tasmania, with black fur, a stocky build, and an exceptionally powerful bite; short for Tasmanian devil.
   - Simple: A small, fierce black animal from Tasmania, also called the Tasmanian devil.
   - _Rangers tracked a devil through the eucalyptus forest after dark._
   - _A devil's jaws are powerful enough to crush bone and cartilage._
7. The wicked side of one's conscience, set against the good side represented by the angel.
   - Simple: The part of your mind that pushes you to do wrong, unlike the good side.
   - _Every time he tried to behave, a devil tugged him back toward temptation._
   - _Her angel said apologize, but the devil told her to walk away proud._
8. Something awkward or difficult to do or understand.
   - Simple: Something that is hard to do or tricky to understand.
   - _That old engine is a devil to start on cold mornings._
   - _Folding a fitted sheet neatly is a devil of a task._
9. A small, whirling column of wind that picks up dust and debris from the ground; short for dust devil.
   - Simple: A small spinning column of wind that lifts dust and dirt into the air, also called a dust devil.
   - _A devil of dust twisted over the desert highway in the midday heat._
   - _The afternoon sun spawned a devil that scattered grit across the campsite._
12. Hell, occurring chiefly in exclamations such as telling someone to go to the devil.
   - Simple: Hell, the place of punishment after death, used mostly in angry sayings.
   - _She told the salesman to go to the devil and slammed the door._
   - _Let the contract go to the devil. I'm done negotiating._
15. A broiled dish, often a bone with meat still on it, heavily seasoned with cayenne or other hot pepper.
   - Simple: A spicy dish of broiled meat or bones covered with lots of hot pepper.
   - _He prepared a devil from last night's leftover bones, broiling them under a thick coat of cayenne._
   - _A proper devil arrives at the table charred and fiercely peppered._
17. An assistant employed in a printing house to help the workers with their tasks.
   - Simple: A young helper who did small jobs in an old-time print shop.
   - _The young devil spent his days inking type and running proofs across town._
   - _Every printing house kept a devil to handle the dirtiest chores._
20. A cycling endurance race in which riders trailing at the back are eliminated at set intervals. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A cycling race where the last rider is removed again and again until one remains.
   - _The track program closed with a devil that thinned the field lap by lap._
   - _He got knocked out early in the devil after a slow start._
21. A mischievous spirit said to haunt printing works and cause their mishaps. *(India)*
   - Simple: A ghost said to cause trouble and mistakes in a printing shop.
   - _Compositors swore a devil lurked among the type, scattering letters when no one watched._
   - _Every smudged proof was laid at the feet of the workshop's devil._
22. A barren, unproductive stretch of land that lies unused. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: A piece of land that is empty and grows nothing useful.
   - _The old map marked a devil where the soil had turned to useless clay._
   - _Sheep wandered across the devil, finding little to graze on._
23. A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, and similar materials, used in making mungo or shoddy.
   - Simple: A machine that tears old cloth and rags into loose fibers.
   - _The mill's devil tore worn blankets into fluff within seconds._
   - _They fed cotton waste into the devil to recover usable fibers._
25. Short form of devil seam. — Ellipsis of devil seam (“the seam between garboard strake and the keel, on wooden boats”).
   - Simple: Short form of devil seam. It means the tricky seam between the keel and the first plank on a wooden boat.
   - _An old sailor had to pay the devil with hot pitch in rough weather._
   - _The carpenter knelt in the bilge to seal the devil before launch._

## Verb

10. To prepare a side dish by removing the yolks from halved boiled eggs, blending them with condiments and spices, and spooning the mixture back into the whites.
   - Simple: To make a dish by mixing boiled egg yolks with spices and putting them back into the egg whites.
   - _He deviled the eggs with mustard, paprika, and a dash of vinegar._
   - _Could you devil the eggs while I finish the salad?_
11. To grill or season food heavily with hot spices such as cayenne pepper.
   - Simple: To cook food with a lot of hot pepper and strong spices.
   - _The chef deviled the kidneys with cayenne and black pepper._
   - _Devil the shrimp with chili and serve them hot._
13. To finely grind cooked ham or other meat and blend it with spices and seasonings.
   - Simple: To chop up cooked meat very finely and mix it with hot spices.
   - _The chef likes to devil ham with paprika, mustard, and a dash of vinegar._
   - _We deviled the turkey and spread it on crackers._
14. To annoy, bother, or torment someone persistently.
   - Simple: To keep bothering or annoying someone.
   - _Money troubles deviled the family for years._
   - _Technical glitches continued to devil the launch team._
16. To make something resemble a devil, or to invest it with a devil's character.
   - Simple: To give someone or something the bad, evil nature of a devil.
   - _The painter chose to devil the figure, twisting its features into something monstrous._
   - _Propaganda deviled the enemy, painting them as creatures of pure malice._
18. To work as an unpaid, unrecognized assistant to a lawyer or writer.
   - Simple: To work for a lawyer or writer for no pay and no credit.
   - _She chose to devil for a famous novelist while learning the craft._
   - _Before establishing himself, he deviled in a busy chambers._
19. To ghostwrite: to author a work while serving as an unrecognized assistant for someone else.
   - Simple: To write something that another person will publish under their own name.
   - _For two seasons he deviled the columns that bore his employer's byline._
   - _She agreed to devil the memoir for a modest flat fee._
24. To shred fabric into its fibers for recycling, as when making mungo or shoddy.
   - Simple: To tear old cloth into loose threads so it can be used again.
   - _The factory deviled tons of discarded uniforms into raw fiber each week._
   - _Rag merchants would devil worn cloth to supply the shoddy trade._

## Origin

From Middle English devil, from Old English dēofol, from Latin diabolus, ultimately from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos, "false accuser, slanderer"), also used to mean "Satan." It derives from διαβάλλω (diabállō, "to slander"), literally "to throw across," from διά (diá, "through, across") plus βάλλω (bállō, "throw"). The Old English word was probably adopted under the influence of Latin diabolus.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/devil (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).