devil
Meaning
(often the Devil) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan
an evil spirit or demon
a very wicked or cruel person
a person who is mischievous, energetic, or reckless
to act as a junior assistant, especially to a lawyer or author
Usage
The artist was portrayed as being tempted by the devil.
He can be a little devil when he's overtired.
She devilled the eggs with paprika and cayenne pepper.
Etymology
The word "devil" has a long journey through languages, tracing back to the Greek "diabolos," meaning "slanderer" or "accuser." This term was a translation of the Hebrew "Satan" in the Greek Septuagint, carrying the sense of an adversary. The Greek "diabolos" is formed from "dia-" (across, through) and "ballein" (to throw), literally suggesting one who throws accusations across or creates division. This concept was adopted into Latin as "diabolus" and subsequently into the Germanic languages, including Old English as "dēofol," eventually evolving into the modern "devil" as the personification of supreme evil and a term for a malign spirit or a wicked person.
Analysis
The modern English word "devil" is a simplex form derived from the Old English "dēofol," which itself came from Latin "diabolus." It is not productively segmented into smaller, meaningful morphemes within modern English spelling.