Baalphegor
/ˌbeɪəlˈfiːɡɔːr/noun
A variant spelling of Belphegor, a demonological figure whose name derives from the biblical deity Baal-Peor.
Did you know?In later Christian demonology, Belphegor became the demon of sloth and ingenious inventions, despite his name originating with an ancient Near Eastern deity.
Etymological Timeline
Late 2nd–1st Millennium BCE
Northwest Semitic
baʿal pəʿōr
““Lord of Peor,” referring to a deity or divine title associated with Mount Peor”
6th–2nd Century BCE
Biblical Hebrew
בַּעַל פְּעוֹר (Baʿal-Peʿor)
“Baal of Peor, the deity named in the Hebrew Bible”
3rd–2nd Century BCE
Greek Septuagint
Beelphegor
“Greek rendering of Baal-Peor”
4th–5th Century CE
Latin
Beelphegor
“Latin biblical and ecclesiastical form of the name”
16th Century
English demonology
Belphegor
“A demon increasingly characterized in Christian demonological writings as a tempter associated with sloth”
Modern English
English
Baalphegor
“A variant spelling preserving the name’s visible connection to Baal-Peor”