demon
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English demon, a borrowing from Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn (“lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). Doublet of daimon.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
demon (plural demons)
- An evil supernatural spirit.
- An evil spirit resident in or working for Hell; a devil. [from 10th c.]
- (now chiefly historical) A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity. [from 10th c.]
- A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child. [from 16th c.]
- A source (especially personified) of great evil or wickedness; a destructive feeling or character flaw. [from 17th c.]
- The demon of stupidity haunts me whenever I open my mouth.
- (in the plural) A person's fears or anxieties. [from 19th c.]
- 2013, The Guardian, 21 January:
- After a short spell on an adult psychiatric ward, she decided to find her own way to deal with her demons.
- 2013, The Guardian, 21 January:
- A neutral supernatural spirit.
- A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
- c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii]:
- Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which keepes thee, is Noble, Couragious, high vnmatchable.
- 2000, Phillip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass:
- “You saw her. And I picked her up,” Lyra said, blushing, because of course it was a gross violation of manners to touch something so private as someone else's dæmon.
- (Greek mythology) A tutelary deity or spirit intermediate between the major Olympian gods and mankind, especially a deified hero or the entity which supposedly guided Socrates, telling him what not to do. [from 16th c.]
- A spirit not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity or supernatural being. [from 19th c.]
- A hypothetical entity with special abilities postulated for the sake of a thought experiment in philosophy or physics.
- 1874, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, “Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy” in Nature 9, 441-444:
- Let the orders now be that each demon is to stop all molecules from crossing his area in either direction except 100 coming from A, arbitrarily chosen to be let pass into B, and a greater number, having among them less energy but equal momentum, to cross from B to A.
- 1874, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, “Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy” in Nature 9, 441-444:
- A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
- Someone with great strength, passion or skill for a particular activity, pursuit etc.; an enthusiast. [from 19th c.]
- He’s a demon at the card tables.
- 2021 May 29, David Hytner, “Chelsea win Champions League after Kai Havertz stuns Manchester City”, in The Guardian[1]:
- Chelsea defended like demons to snuff out Manchester City but this was a perfectly calibrated triumph, built upon a structured attacking approach, choosing the right moments to transition, and illuminated by the smoothness of Havertz’s technique.
- (UK, card games) A form of patience (known as Canfield in the US). [from 19th c.]
- 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 89:
- ‘That's much the best feeling to have.’ She dealt out the first row of ‘demon’.
- 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 89:
- Any of various hesperiid butterflies of the genera Notocrypta and Udaspes.
Usage notesEdit
Meanings drawing on the neutral, ancient Greek conception now often distinguish themselves by the variant spellings daimon or daemon.
SynonymsEdit
- (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
- (neutral spirit): genius, tutelary deity, see also Thesaurus:god and Thesaurus:spirit
HyponymsEdit
- (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
- (theoretical entity): Maxwell's demon
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
- demonkin
- agathodemon
- antidemonic
- archdemon
- cacodemon
- counterdemonic
- Demon core
- demon dialing
- demonagogue
- demonette
- demonhood
- demonian
- demonic, demonical
- demoniac, demoniacal
- demonifuge
- demonify
- demonish
- demonism
- demonist
- demonize
- demoness
- demonkind
- demonlike
- demonlore
- demonly
- demonry
- demonship
- demonocracy
- demonography
- demonographer
- demonolater
- demonolatry
- demonology
- demonomagy
- demonomancy
- demonomania
- demonomaniac
- demonomist
- demonomy
- demonopathy
- demonophobia
- eudemon
- half-demon
- Maxwell's demon
- nasal demon
- speed demon
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
AnagramsEdit
DutchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
demon m (plural demonen or demons)
FinnishEdit
NounEdit
demon
- Genitive singular form of demo.
AnagramsEdit
LatinEdit
Alternative formsEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
dēmon m
Middle EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn, from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn). Doublet of tyme (“time”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
demon (plural demones)
DescendantsEdit
- English: demon
ReferencesEdit
- “dēmōn, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-25.
Norwegian BokmålEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).
NounEdit
demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demoner, definite plural demonene)
- a demon
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “demon” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian NynorskEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).
NounEdit
demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demonar, definite plural demonane)
- a demon
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “demon” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
PolishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
demon m anim
DeclensionEdit
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- demon in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- demon in Polish dictionaries at PWN
RomanianEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- dimon (regional, Moldova)
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Greek δαίμονας (daímonas), partly through the intermediate of (South) Slavic *demonь. Compare also Aromanian demun.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
demon m (plural demoni)
- demon
- (figuratively) a despicable person
DeclensionEdit
SynonymsEdit
AntonymsEdit
Related termsEdit
Serbo-CroatianEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Greek δαίμονας (daímonas).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
dèmōn m (Cyrillic spelling дѐмо̄н)