devel

English

Noun

devel (plural devels)

  1. (Scotland) Alternative spelling of devvel

Verb

devel (third-person singular simple present devels, present participle develling, simple past and past participle develled)

  1. (Scotland) Alternative spelling of devvel

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English dēofol, dēoful, from earlier dīobul, from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈdeːvəl/, /ˈdɛvəl/, /deːl/

Noun

devel (plural develes or defles or develen)

  1. Satan, Lucifer (in Early ME, without the definite article)
    • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Summoner's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 1693-1696:
      Right so as bees out swarmen from an hyve, / Out of the develes ers ther gonne dryve / Twenty thousand freres on a route / And thurghout helle swarmed al aboute...
      Just like bees swarm from a hive / Out of the devil's arse there were driven / Twenty thousand friars on a rout / And throughout hell they swarmed all about...
  2. A devil; a evil creature that resides in hell in Christianity
  3. A pagan or heretical god; an deity considered to be false or an idol.
  4. (figuratively) A malicious or sinful person; one who is evil.
  5. (rare) A fantastic beast or monstrous creature.

Derived terms

Descendants

References
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