demon
noun/ˈdiː.mən/
Etymology 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”). Displaced native Old English sċucca and Old English þyrs. Doublet of daimon.
12 senses
- 1An evil being resident in or working for Hell; a devil.
- 2A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity.
- 3A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened…
- 4A source (especially personified) of great evil or…
- 5A person's fears or anxieties.
- 6A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse.
- 7A tutelary deity or spirit intermediate between the…
- 8A supernatural being not considered to be inherently…
- 9A hypothetical entity with special abilities postulated…
- 10Someone with great strength, passion or skill for a…
- 11A type of patience or solitaire (card game) played in…
- 12Any of various hesperiid butterflies of the genera…
› An evil supernatural being.
An evil being resident in or working for Hell; a devil.
- So what does the Gospel of Judas really say? It says that Judas is a specific demon called the "Thirteenth." In certain Gnostic traditions, this is the given name of the king of demons - an entity known as Ialdabaoth who lives in the 13th realm above the earth. Judas is his human alter ego, his undercover agent in the world. These Gnostics equated Ialdabaoth with the Hebrew Yahweh, whom they saw as a jealous and wrathful deity and an opponent of the supreme God whom Jesus came to earth to reveal. Whoever wrote the Gospel of Judas was a harsh critic of mainstream Christianity and its rituals. Because Judas is a demon working for Ialdabaoth, the author believed, when Judas sacrifices Jesus he does so to the demons, not to the supreme God. This mocks mainstream Christians' belief in the atoning value of Jesus' death and in the effectiveness of the Eucharist.2007 December 2, April D. DeConick, “What the Gospel of Judas really says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Nov 2011, Essay:
Historical A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity.
Broadly, Figuratively A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child.
A source (especially personified) of great evil or wickedness; a destructive feeling or character flaw.
- The demon of stupidity haunts me whenever I open my mouth.
In plural A person's fears or anxieties.
- After a short spell on an adult psychiatric ward, she decided to find her own way to deal with her demons.2013 January 21, The Guardian:
› A neutral supernatural being.
A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse.
- Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which keepes thee, is Noble, Couragious, high vnmatchable.c. 1606–1607 (date written), 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, [Act II, scene iii]:
- “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.2000, Phillip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass:
Human sciences, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, Sciences Greek 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.
A supernatural being not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity.
A hypothetical entity with special abilities postulated for the sake of a thought experiment in philosophy or physics.
- 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
Someone with great strength, passion or skill for a particular activity, pursuit etc.; an enthusiast.
- He’s a demon at the card tables.
- 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.2021 May 29, David Hytner, “Chelsea win Champions League after Kai Havertz stuns Manchester City”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2021:
Card games, Games A type of patience or solitaire (card game) played in the UK and/or US.
- ‘That's much the best feeling to have.’ She dealt out the first row of ‘demon’.1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 89:
Any of various hesperiid butterflies of the genera Notocrypta and Udaspes.
- Synonyms
- genius, tutelary deity, barghest, bogie, bogeyman, boggard, bogle, cacodemon, daeva, devil, evil genius, fiend, flibbertigibbet, ghoul, goblin, imp, kobold, nis, spook, troll
- Derived terms
52 terms
bedemon, confront one's demons, dedemonization, demonagogue, demon catshark, demon core, Demoncrat, demon dialing, demon duck of doom, demoness, demonette, demon face syndrome, demon hunter, demon-hunter, demonic, demonical, demonify, demonisation, demonise, demonish, demonism, demonist, demonize, demonkin, demonkind, demonless, demonlike, demonlore, demonocracy, demonography, demonolatory, demonology, demonomachy, demonomancy, demonomaniac, demonomist, demonopathy, Demonrat, demonship, demonslayer, demonspawn, face one's demons, fur demon, half-demon, Laplace's demon, like a demon, nasal demon, nondemon, restricted demon, semen demon, she-demon, speed demon- Related terms
52 terms
agathodemon, antidemonic, archdemon, cacodemon, counterdemonic, demonagogue, Demon core, demon dialing, demoness, demonette, demonhood, demoniacally, demoniac, demoniacal, demonianism, demonian, demonically, demonic, demonical, demonifuge, demonify, demonish, demonism, demonist, demonization, demonize, demonkin, demonkind, demonlike, demonlore, demonly, demonocracy, demonographer, demonography, demonolater, demonolatry, demonology, demonomagy, demonomancy, demonomania, demonomaniac, demonomist, demonomy, demonopathy, demonophobia, demonry, demonship, eudemon, half-demon, Maxwell's demon, nasal demon, speed demon