Diabolos
/diˈa.vo.los/noun
An ancient Greek word meaning “slanderer” or “false accuser,” later used for the Devil.
Did you know?In the Greek Septuagint, diabolos was used to translate the Hebrew satan, originally meaning an adversary or accuser rather than an inherently evil supernatural being.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷelH-
“To throw or hurl; a reconstructed root associated with the later Greek family built around ballō.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
bállō (βάλλω)
“To throw, strike, or cast.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
diabállō (διαβάλλω)
“To throw across; figuratively, to slander, accuse, or set people against one another.”
Classical Greek
Greek
diábolos (διάβολος)
“A slanderer, false accuser, or malicious prosecutor.”
3rd–2nd Century BCE
Koine Greek
diábolos
“Used in the Septuagint for the Hebrew satan, an adversary or accuser.”
Late Antiquity
Latin
diabolus
“The Devil or chief evil spirit in Christian Latin.”
Modern English
English
devil
“The Christian personification of evil, descended through Old English dēofol from Latin diabolus.”