Word of the Day
Tuesday, October 30, 2001
diablerie
\dee-OB-luh-ree; -AB-\ , noun;
1.
Sorcery; black magic; witchcraft.
2.
Representation of devils or demons in words or pictures.
3.
Mischievous conduct; deviltry.
Quotes:
She invariably had every child in the establishment at her heels, open-mouthed with admiration and wonder,--not excepting Miss Eva, who appeared to be fascinated by her wild diablerie, as a dove is sometimes charmed by a glittering serpent.
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
His worst excesses of unfeeling diablerie belong to his early days.
-- Robertson Davies, "The Making of a 'Dublin Smartie", New York Times, October 30, 1988
Origin:
Diablerie comes from the French, from diable, devil, from Latin diabolus, from Greek diabolos, "slanderer," from diaballein, "to slander," literally "to throw across," from dia-, "across" + ballein, "to throw."
Previous
Words of the Day
Get Word of the Day
Free Email Sign Up
SMS-Text WDAY to 44636.
Standard messaging rates apply
x
