adversary

adversary · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromadversārius
2. Old French · derived fromaversier
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromaversaire
4. Middle English · inherited fromadversarie
5. English todayadversary

From Middle English adversarie, from Anglo-Norman aversaire (in Wace's Life of Saint Margaret) and Old French aversier, aversaire (French adversaire), from Latin adversārius, from adversus (“turned toward”). By surface analysis, adverse + -ary.

Adversary · proper noun²

A biblical reference, Satan ultimately deriving from a borrowing of the Hebrew שָׂטָן (Śāṭān, “adversary, accuser”). (See also Satan).