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demon
1[ dee-muhn ]
noun
- an evil spirit; devil or fiend.
- an evil passion or influence.
- a person considered extremely wicked, evil, or cruel.
- a person with great energy, drive, etc.:
He's a demon for work.
- a person, especially a child, who is very mischievous:
His younger son is a real little demon.
- Australian Slang. a policeman, especially a detective.
adjective
- of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or noting a demon.
- possessed or controlled by a demon.
demon-
2- variant of demono- before a vowel:
demonism.
demon
/ ˈdiːmən /
noun
- an evil spirit or devil
- a person, habit, obsession, etc, thought of as evil, cruel, or persistently tormenting
- Also calleddaemondaimon an attendant or ministering spirit; genius
the demon of inspiration
- a person who is extremely skilful in, energetic at, or devoted to a given activity, esp a sport
a demon at cycling
- ( as modifier )
a demon cyclist
- a variant spelling of daemon
- informal.a detective or policeman
- computing a part of a computer program, such as a help facility, that can run in the background behind the current task or application, and which will only begin to work when certain conditions are met or when it is specifically invoked
Word History and Origins
Origin of demon1
Word History and Origins
Origin of demon1
Example Sentences
Such mugs, including the one donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984, are decorated with the head of Bes, an ancient Egyptian god or guardian demon worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing and magical purification.
Otherwise, he’s brazenly unconcerned about anything that doesn’t arouse that or the demon in his pants, which has made his character’s developmental journey, in Berry’s view, relatively limited.
Maybe a demon is on the loose …
The last thing we would like to tell you before the election is that a demon attacked Tucker Carlson.
While Carlson was sharing a bed with “four dogs,” his conclusion was that the marks had come from “a demon.”
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Related Words
Words That Use Demon-
What does demon- mean?
Demon- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “demon.” It is used in a few technical terms, especially in theology.
Demon- comes from the Greek daimónion, meaning “thing of divine nature” and ultimate source of the English word demon. Among Jewish and Christian writers, daimónion was used to mean “evil spirit.”
Demon- is a variant of demono-, which loses its –o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.
Want to know more? Read our Words That Use demono- article.
Examples of demon-
One example of a theological term that features the combining form demon- is demonism, which can refer to the belief in or study of demons.
The first part of the word, demon- means “demon,” as we’ve seen. What about the -ism part of the word? The suffix -ism can refer to a kind of “theory” or a “devotion or adherence” to something. So, demonism literally translates to “demon devotion.”
What are some words that use or are related to the combining form demon-?
What are some other forms that demon- may be commonly confused with?
Not every word that begins with the exact letters demon- is necessarily using the combining form demon- to denote “demon,” such as demonym or demonetize. Learn their meaning and uses at our entries for the words.
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