from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Devil \Dev"il\, n. [AS. de['o]fol, de['o]ful; akin to G. ?eufel,
Goth. diaba['u]lus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. ? the
devil, the slanderer, fr. ? to slander, calumniate, orig., to
throw across; ? across + ? to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr.
gal to fall. Cf. {Diabolic}.]
1. The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and
spiritual of mankind.
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[Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil.
--Luke iv. 2.
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That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world. --Rev. xii. 9.
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2. An evil spirit; a demon.
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A dumb man possessed with a devil. --Matt. ix.
32.
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3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. "That devil
Glendower." "The devil drunkenness." --Shak.
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Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a
devil? --John vi. 70.
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4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or,
ironically, of negation. [Low]
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The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a
timepleaser. --Shak.
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The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there. --Pope.
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5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and
excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.
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Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting
oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron. --Sir
W. Scott.
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6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton,
etc.
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{Blue devils}. See under {Blue}.
{Cartesian devil}. See under {Cartesian}.
{Devil bird} (Zool.), one of two or more South African drongo
shrikes ({Edolius retifer}, and {Edolius remifer}),
believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery.
{Devil may care}, reckless, defiant of authority; -- used
adjectively. --Longfellow.
{Devil's apron} (Bot.), the large kelp ({Laminaria
saccharina}, and {Laminaria longicruris}) of the Atlantic
ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped
somewhat like an apron.
{Devil's coachhorse}. (Zool.)
(a) The black rove beetle ({Ocypus olens}). [Eng.]
(b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect ({Prionotus
cristatus}); the wheel bug. [U.S.]
{Devil's darning-needle}. (Zool.) See under {Darn}, v. t.
{Devil's fingers}, {Devil's hand} (Zool.), the common British
starfish ({Asterias rubens}); -- also applied to a sponge
with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.]
{Devil's riding-horse} (Zool.), the American mantis ({Mantis
Carolina}).
{The Devil's tattoo}, a drumming with the fingers or feet.
"Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot
heels." --F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.).
{Devil worship}, worship of the power of evil; -- still
practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil
forces of nature are of equal power.
{Printer's devil}, the youngest apprentice in a printing
office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing
the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. "Without fearing the
printer's devil or the sheriff's officer." --Macaulay.
{Tasmanian devil} (Zool.), a very savage carnivorous
marsupial of Tasmania ({Dasyurus ursinus} syn. {Diabolus
ursinus}).
{To play devil with}, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]
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