English
devilish
Devilish comes from Middle English develissh ‘devilish, hellish’, and goes back to Ancient Greek διάβολος.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιάβολος‘The Devil’
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*diubul‘devil’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēofol‘a demon, devil’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devel‘a devil’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500develissh‘devilish, hellish’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1530devilish
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιάβολος‘The Devil’
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*diubul‘devil’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dēofol‘a demon, devil’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devel‘a devil’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500develissh‘devilish, hellish’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1530devilish
Earliest quotation: a. 1530, John Skelton, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […]: “For I abhore to smatter / Of one so…”
Formed from devil + -ish
Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’
…
Latin diabolus
Proto-West Germanic *diubul
Old English dēofol ‘a demon, devil’
Middle English devil
English devil
Linked words
through Ancient Greek διάβολος ‘The Devil’
Today it means
adj Resembling a devil.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek διάβολος / devilish