# hellion

Pronunciation: say "HEL-ee-uhn" /ˈhɛliən/

## Noun

1. A troublemaker given to rowdy, unruly, or mischievous behavior, especially a child.
   - Simple: A person, often a child, who is wild, noisy and causes trouble.
   - _Their youngest is a little hellion who climbs everything in the house._
   - _A pack of teenage hellions set off firecrackers outside the library._
2. A wicked or evil person.
   - Simple: A very bad, cruel person.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The larva of the dobsonfly.
- (adjective) Cursed or ill-fated.

## Origin

Hallion, a dialect word in northern England and Scotland for a "scamp, worthless fellow," was reshaped under the influence of hell. Where hallion itself came from is unknown.

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