demon

• (now chiefly in reference to the ancient Greek spirit): daimon, daemon, dæmon

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”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.mən/

demon (plural demons)

1. An evil supernatural spirit.
   1. An evil spirit resident in or working for Hell; a devil. [from 10th c.]
   2. (now chiefly historical) A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity. [from 10th c.]
   3. A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child. [from 16th c.]
   4. 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.

   5. (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.

2. A neutral supernatural spirit.
   1. A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse. [from 14th c.]
      • 1616, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, II.3:

        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.

   2. (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.]
   3. A spirit not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity or supernatural being. [from 19th c.]
   4. An 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.

3. 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.

4. (Britain, 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’.

Meanings drawing on the neutral, ancient Greek conception now often distinguish themselves by the variant spellings daimon or daemon.

• (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon
• (neutral spirit): genius, tutelary deity, see also Thesaurus:god and Thesaurus:spirit

• (evil spirit): See Thesaurus:demon

• Emond, monde, moned

From Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).

• Audio

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• Hyphenation: de‧mon

demon m (plural demonen or demons)

1. demon

demon

1. Genitive singular form of demo.

• dēmum

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈdeː.mon/, [ˈdeː.mɔn]

dēmon m

1. accusative singular of dēmos

From Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn, from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn). Doublet of tyme (“time”).

• IPA^(key): /dɛːˈmɔːn/

demon (plural demones)

1. demon, devil, malicious spirit
2. (rare) daimon, helpful spirit

• English: demon

• “dēmōn (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-25.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).

demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demoner, definite plural demonene)

1. a demon

• demonisk

• “demon” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn).

demon m (definite singular demonen, indefinite plural demonar, definite plural demonane)

1. a demon

• demonisk

• “demon” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Borrowed from Latin daemon (“lar, genius, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.mɔn/

• audio

  (file)

demon m anim

1. demon

• demoniczny, demonicznie
• demonizować
• demonologia

• dimon (regional, Moldova)

Borrowed from Greek δαίμονας (daímonas), partly through the intermediate of (South) Slavic demonĭ. Compare also Aromanian demun.

• IPA^(key): [ˈdemon]

demon m (plural demoni)

1. demon
2. (figuratively) a despicable person

• diavol
• drac

• înger
• sfânt

• demonic

Borrowed from Greek δαίμονας (daímonas).

• IPA^(key): /děmoːn/
• Hyphenation: de‧mon

dèmōn m (Cyrillic spelling дѐмо̄н)

1. demon

• dèmōnskī