demon

demon · noun¹

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromδαίμων“dispenser, god, protective spirit”
2. Medieval Latin · derived fromdēmōn
3. Middle English · inherited fromdemon
4. English todaydemon

From Middle English demon, a borrowing from Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn (“lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). Displaced native Old English sċucca (“evil spirit”) and Old English þyrs (“ogre or monster”). Doublet of daimon; also more distantly a doublet or piecewise doublet of time.

demon · noun²

1. Englishdistinct electron motion
2. Ancient Greekἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)
3. Latinēlectrum
4. New Latinēlectricus
5. Englishelectric
6. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
7. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
8. Proto-Hellenic*éimi
9. Ancient Greekἰόν (ión)
10. Englishion
11. Englishelectronbf.
12. English todaydemon

From distinct electron motion + -on.

demon · noun³

From Maxwell's demon; a derivation from “disk and execution monitor” is generally considered a backronym.

Demon · proper noun⁴

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromδῆμος“ordinary citizens, common people from a district, in a city-state”
2. English todayDemon

From Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos, “ordinary citizens, common people from a district, in a city-state”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 10th c. An evil being resident in or working for Hell; a devil.
• from 10th c. A false god or idol; a Satanic divinity.
• from 16th c. A very wicked or malevolent person; also (in weakened sense) a mischievous person, especially a child.
• from 17th c. A source (especially personified) of great evil or wickedness; a destructive feeling or character flaw.
• from 19th c. A person's fears or anxieties.
• from 14th c. A person's inner spirit or genius; a guiding or creative impulse.
• from 16th c. A tutelary deity or spirit intermediate between the major Olympian gods and mankind, especially a deified hero or the entity which supposedly guided Socrates, telling him what not to do.
• from 19th c. A supernatural being not considered to be inherently evil; a (non-Christian) deity.