(sometimes initial capital letter) the supreme spirit of evil; Satan.
b.
a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with God, and having power to afflict humans both with bodily disease and with spiritual corruption.
2.
an atrociously wicked, cruel, or ill-tempered person.
3.
a person who is very clever, energetic, reckless, or mischievous.
4.
a person, usually one in unfortunate or pitiable circumstances: The poor devil kept losing jobs through no fault of his own.
5.
Also called printer's devil.Printing. a young worker below the level of apprentice in a printing office.
6.
any of various mechanical devices, as a machine for tearing rags, a machine for manufacturing wooden screws, etc.
7.
Nautical. (in deck or hull planking) any of various seams difficult to caulk because of form or position.
8.
any of various portable furnaces or braziers used in construction and foundry work.
9.
the devil, (used as an emphatic expletive or mild oath to express disgust, anger, astonishment, negation, etc.): What the devil do you mean by that?
–verb (used with object)
10.
to annoy; harass; pester: to devil Mom and Dad for a new car.
11.
to tear (rags, cloth, etc.) with a devil.
12.
Cookery. to prepare (food, usually minced) with hot or savory seasoning: to devil eggs.
—Idioms
13.
between the devil and the deep (blue) sea, between two undesirable alternatives; in an unpleasant dilemma.
14.
devil of a, extremely difficult or annoying; hellish: I had a devil of a time getting home through the snow.
15.
give the devil his due, to give deserved credit even to a person one dislikes: To give the devil his due, you must admit that she is an excellent psychologist.
16.
go to the devil,
a.
to fail completely; lose all hope or chance of succeeding.
let the devil take the hindmost, to leave the least able or fortunate persons to suffer adverse consequences; leave behind or to one's fate: They ran from the pursuing mob and let the devil take the hindmost.
18.
play the devil with, to ruin completely; spoil: The financial crisis played the devil with our investment plans.
19.
raise the devil,
a.
to cause a commotion or disturbance.
b.
to celebrate wildly; revel.
c.
to make an emphatic protest or take drastic measures.
20.
the devil to pay, trouble to be faced; mischief in the offing: If conditions don't improve, there will be the devil to pay.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME devel, OE déofol < LL diabolus < Gk diábolos Satan (Septuagint, NT), lit., slanderer (n.), slanderous (adj.), verbid of diabállein to assault someone's character, lit., to throw across, equiv. to dia-dia-+ bállein to throw]
often Devil In many religions, the major personified spirit of evil, ruler of Hell, and foe of God. Used with the.
A subordinate evil spirit; a demon.
A wicked or malevolent person.
A person: a handsome devil; the poor devil.
An energetic, mischievous, daring, or clever person.
Printing A printer's devil.
A device or machine, especially one having teeth or spikes and used for tearing.
An outstanding example, especially of something difficult or bad: has a devil of a temper.
A severe reprimand or expression of anger: gave me the devil for cutting class.
Informal Used as an intensive: Who the devil do you think you are?
tr.v.
dev·iled or dev·illed, dev·il·ing or dev·il·ling, dev·ils
To season (food) heavily.
To annoy, torment, or harass.
To tear up (cloth or rags) in a toothed machine.
[Middle English devel, from Old English dēofol, from Latin diabolus, from Late Greek diabolos, from Greek, slanderer, from diaballein, to slander : dia-, dia- + ballein, to hurl; see gwelə- in Indo-European roots.]
O.E. deofol "evil spirit," from L.L. diabolus, from Gk. diabolos "accuser, slanderer" (scriptural loan-translation of Heb. satan), from diaballein "to slander, attack," lit. "throw across," from dia- "across, through" + ballein "to throw." Jerome re-introduced Satan in L. bibles, and Eng. translators have used both in different measures. In Vulgate, as in Gk., diabolus and dæmon (see demon) were distinct, but they have merged in Eng. and other Gmc. languages. Playful use for "clever rogue" is from 1601. Meaning "sand spout, dust storm" is from 1835. Devilry is from 1375; deviltry (1788) is a corrupt formation from it. Devilled "grilled with hot condiments" is from 1800. The Tasmanian devil so called since at least 1829, from its propensity for killing young lambs (other voracious fish or animals have also been named devil). Phrase a devil way (c.1290) was originally an emphatic form of away, but taken by late 14c. as an expression of irritation. Devil's advocate (1760) is L. advocatus diaboli, one whose job it is to urge against the canonization of a candidate for sainthood. Devil-may-care is attested from 1837 (but suggested in other forms by 1793). Devil's books "playing cards" is from 1729, but the cited quote says they've been called that "time out of mind" (the four of clubs is the devil's bedposts); devil's coach-horse is from 1840, the large rove-beetle, which is defiant when disturbed. "Talk of the Devil, and he's presently at your elbow" [1666].
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"
Kill Devil Hills, NC (town, FIPS 35720) Location: 36.01602 N, 75.66753 W Population (1990): 4238 (4809 housing units) Area: 14.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 27948
Red Devil, AK (CDP, FIPS 64930) Location: 61.79033 N, 157.34786 W Population (1990): 53 (24 housing units) Area: 60.8 sq km (land), 5.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 99656
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. [Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil. --Luke iv. 2. That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. --Rev. xii. 9. 2. An evil spirit; a demon. A dumb man possessed with a devil. --Matt. ix. 32. 3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. "That devil Glendower." "The devil drunkenness." --Shak. Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? --John vi. 70. 4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [Low] The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a timepleaser. --Shak. The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But wonder how the devil they got there. --Pope. 5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper. Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron. --Sir W. Scott. 6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc. Blue devils. See under Blue. Cartesian devil. See under Cartesian. Devil bird (Zo["o]l.), one of two or more South African drongo shrikes (Edolius retifer, and E. 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 L. longicruris) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron. Devil's coachhorse. (Zo["o]l.) (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. (Zo["o]l.) See under Darn, v. t. Devil's fingers, Devil's hand (Zo["o]l.), the common British starfish (Asterias rubens); -- also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.] Devil's riding-horse (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania (Dasyurus, or Diabolus, ursinus). To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]
Dev"il\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deviledor Devilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Devilingor Devilling.]1. To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil. 2. To grill with Cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper. A deviled leg of turkey. --W. Irving.
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