Talk:Mephistopheles

"Mephisto in their eyes"

i recently read a passage in a novel where the character saw 'scumbags with mephisto in their eyes'.. does this make any sense given the meaning or origin of the word. This is a pretty big author and would expect him not to just grab words out of the air without knowing their meaning or even if they are actual words??? bit confusing cos i cant find an actual meaning for this word, just fictional character names and titles of fictional work.

I can't find the passage you mean in Google Books, but see Mephisto: it's short for Mephistopheles. Equinox ◑ 14:57, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Perhaps the author means scumbags with a "devilish" look in their eyes? Jberkel 15:20, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Etymology

Perhaps from Hebrew מֵפִיץ (mêfîṣ), "scatterer, deliverer", and tofel, abbreviation of ט֫פֶל שֶׁ֫קֶר (ṭōfel šeqer), from the verb ṭafol (to glue, to unite) and šeqer (a lie); something like "paster of lies". https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mefist%C3%B3feles. Maybe someone wanted to mean mēfiyç šәqariym (scatterer of lies). Manfariel (talk) 01:55, 16 May 2023 (UTC)