Etymology

lord of the flies

Today it means: Beelzebub; Satan Full definition →

Biblical Hebrew בַּעַל זְבוּב
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The story

  1. Biblical Hebrew · calque ofבַּעַל זְבוּב“fly-lord, Beelzebub”
  2. English todaylord of the flies

Calque of Biblical Hebrew בַּעַל זְבוּב (baʿal zəḇûḇ, “fly-lord, Beelzebub”), which in turn is a mistranslation of the name of the Semitic devil Baal-zevuv.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.