Etymology

archdevil

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Today it means: A chief or reigning devil. Full definition →

English devil ← Middle English devel ← Old English dēofol
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂er-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ergʰ-der.?
  3. Ancient Greekἄρχω (árkhō)
  4. Ancient Greekἀρχι- (arkhi-)
  5. Latinarchi-
  6. Old Englisharċe-
  7. Middle Englisharch-
  8. Englisharch-
  9. Ancient Greekδιαβάλλω (diabállō)
  10. Ancient Greekδιάβολος (diábolos)
  11. Latindiabolus
  12. Proto-West Germanic*diubul
  13. Old Englishdēofol
  14. Middle Englishdevel
  15. Englishdevil
  16. English todayarchdevil

From arch- + devil.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.