διάβολος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ζάβολος (zábolos) — Aeolic

Etymology

From διαβάλλω (diabállō, “I slander”, from δια- (dia-, “through”) +‎ βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”)).

For the meaning development, compare Russian кида́ла (kidála), кида́лово (kidálovo) related to кида́ть (kidátʹ).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /di.á.bo.los/ → /ðiˈa.βo.los/ → /ðiˈa.vo.los/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /di.á.bo.los/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /diˈa.bo.los/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ðiˈa.βo.los/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ðiˈa.vo.los/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ðiˈa.vo.los/

Adjective

δῐᾰ́βολος • (dĭắbolos) m or f (neuter δῐᾰ́βολον); second declension

1. slanderous; libellous

Inflection

Second declension of δῐᾰ́βολος; δῐᾰ́βολον (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		δῐᾰ́βολος dĭắbolos	δῐᾰ́βολον dĭắbolon		δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō	δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō		δῐᾰ́βολοι dĭắboloi	δῐᾰ́βολᾰ dĭắbolă
Genitive		δῐᾰβόλου dĭăbólou	δῐᾰβόλου dĭăbólou		δῐᾰβόλοιν dĭăbóloin	δῐᾰβόλοιν dĭăbóloin		δῐᾰβόλων dĭăbólōn	δῐᾰβόλων dĭăbólōn
Dative		δῐᾰβόλῳ dĭăbólōi	δῐᾰβόλῳ dĭăbólōi		δῐᾰβόλοιν dĭăbóloin	δῐᾰβόλοιν dĭăbóloin		δῐᾰβόλοις dĭăbólois	δῐᾰβόλοις dĭăbólois
Accusative		δῐᾰ́βολον dĭắbolon	δῐᾰ́βολον dĭắbolon		δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō	δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō		δῐᾰβόλους dĭăbólous	δῐᾰ́βολᾰ dĭắbolă
Vocative		δῐᾰ́βολε dĭắbole	δῐᾰ́βολον dĭắbolon		δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō	δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō		δῐᾰ́βολοι dĭắboloi	δῐᾰ́βολᾰ dĭắbolă
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		δῐᾰβόλως dĭăbólōs			δῐᾰβολώτερος dĭăbolṓteros			δῐᾰβολώτᾰτος dĭăbolṓtătos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• διαβόλως (diabólōs)

Noun

δῐᾰ́βολος • (dĭắbolos) m (genitive δῐᾰβόλου); second declension

1. slanderer
2. The Devil (Biblical figure).

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ δῐᾰ́βολος; τοῦ δῐᾰβόλου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ δῐᾰ́βολος ho dĭắbolos	τὼ δῐᾰβόλω tṑ dĭăbólō	οἱ δῐᾰ́βολοι hoi dĭắboloi
Genitive	τοῦ δῐᾰβόλου toû dĭăbólou	τοῖν δῐᾰβόλοιν toîn dĭăbóloin	τῶν δῐᾰβόλων tôn dĭăbólōn
Dative	τῷ δῐᾰβόλῳ tôi dĭăbólōi	τοῖν δῐᾰβόλοιν toîn dĭăbóloin	τοῖς δῐᾰβόλοις toîs dĭăbólois
Accusative	τὸν δῐᾰ́βολον tòn dĭắbolon	τὼ δῐᾰβόλω tṑ dĭăbólō	τοὺς δῐᾰβόλους toùs dĭăbólous
Vocative	δῐᾰ́βολε dĭắbole	δῐᾰβόλω dĭăbólō	δῐᾰ́βολοι dĭắboloi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: διάβολος (diávolos)
• Mariupol Greek: дъа́вулус (ðávulus)
• →? Arabic: إبليس (ʔiblīs)
  • → Azerbaijani: iblis
  • → Bashkir: иблис (iblis)
  • → English: Iblis, Iblees, Eblis
  • → Indonesian: iblis
  • → Kazakh: ібіліс (ıbılıs)
  • → Kyrgyz: ибилис (ibilis)
  • → Northern Kurdish: îblîs
  • → Ottoman Turkish: ابلیس (iblis)

    > Turkish: iblis (inherited)

  • → Swahili: Ibilisi
  • → Tatar: иблис (iblis)
  • → Toba Batak: ᯘᯪᯅᯬᯞᯪᯘ᯲ (sibolis)
  • → Uyghur: ئىبلىس (iblis)
  • → Uzbek: iblis
  • → Yoruba: bìlísì
• → Coptic: ⲇⲓⲁⲃⲟⲗⲟⲥ (diabolos)
• → Gothic: 𐌳𐌹𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌿𐌻𐌿𐍃 (diabaulus), 𐌳𐌹𐌰𐌱𐌿𐌻𐌰 (diabula)
• → Latin: diabolus (see there for further descendants)
• → Old Church Slavonic: диꙗволъ (dijavolŭ), дїаволъ (diavolŭ), диꙗволь (dijavolĭ), дьѣволъ (dĭěvolŭ)
  • Bulgarian: дя́вол (djávol)
  • → Romanian: diavol
• → Old East Slavic: диꙗволъ (dijavolŭ)
  • Russian: дья́вол (dʹjávol)
  • Ukrainian: дия́вол (dyjávol)
• → Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic script: ђа̏вао, ђа̏во̄

  Latin script: đȁvao, đȁvō

  • →? Istriot: giavo, djavo

Further reading

• “διάβολος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “διάβολος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• διάβολος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• διάβολος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “διάβολος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1228 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • abusive idem, page 5.
  • calumnious idem, page 110.
  • defamatory idem, page 203.
  • disparaging idem, page 236.
  • opprobrious idem, page 577.
  • scandalous idem, page 737.
  • scurrilous idem, page 743.
  • slanderous idem, page 782.
• “διάβολος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

Greek

Alternative forms

• διάλος (diálos), διάολος (diáolos)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈðʝa.vo.los/
• Hyphenation: διά‧βο‧λος
• IPA^(key): /ˈði̯a.vo.los/ (less common)

Noun

διάβολος • (diávolos) m (plural διάβολοι)

1. (both figurative and literally) The Devil, devil.

   Ο διάβολος ζει στην κόλαση.

   O diávolos zei stin kólasi.

   The Devil lives in Hell.

   Μια χαρά ήμασταν και τότε ήρθε αυτός ο διάβολος.

   Mia chará ímastan kai tóte írthe aftós o diávolos.

   We were fine and this devil came along.

   Βρε, τον διάβολο, κανείς δεν μπορεί να τον πιάσει.

   Vre, ton diávolo, kaneís den boreí na ton piásei.

   That (little) devil, no one can catch him.

2. (both figurative and literally, by extension) Hell, hell, underworld, hellhole

   Θα πας στον διάβολο!

   Tha pas ston diávolo!

   You'll go to hell!

   Τι θέλεις και πας σ’ αυτόν τον διάβολο;

   Ti théleis kai pas s’ aftón ton diávolo;

   Why are you going to that hellhole?

Declension

Declension of διάβολος

	singular	plural
nominative	διάβολος (diávolos)	διάβολοι (diávoloi)
genitive	διαβόλου (diavólou)	διαβόλων (diavólon)
accusative	διάβολο (diávolo)	διαβόλους (diavólous)
vocative	διάβολε (diávole)	διάβολοι (diávoloi)

Synonyms

• διάτανος m (diátanos)
• Σατανάς m (Satanás, “Satan”)
• Βελζεβούλ m (Velzevoúl, “Beelzebub”)
• Εωσφόρος m (Eosfóros, “Lucifer”)
• Μεφιστοφελής m (Mefistofelís, “Mephistopheles”)
• τρισκατάρατος m (triskatáratos, “devil”) (euphemism)
• εξαποδώς m (exapodós, “devil”) (euphemism)
• κόλαση f (kólasi, “Hell”)
• αγύριστος m (agýristos, “Hell”)

Derived terms

• διαβολάκι n (diavoláki),διαολάκι n (diaoláki) (diminutive)
• διαβολάκος m (diavolákos) (diminutive)
• διαβολεμένος (diavoleménos)
• διαβολοκόριτσο n (diavolokóritso)
• διαβολοσκορπίσματα n (diavoloskorpísmata) (mostly in plural)
• διαόλια n pl (diaólia)
• διαολοστέλνω (diaolostélno)
• δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος, γαμούσε τα παιδιά του (douleiá den eíche o diávolos, gamoúse ta paidiá tou, “the devil makes work for idle hands”) (literally: the devil didn't have anything to do, so he was fucking his children)
• δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος και έπνιγε τα παιδιά του (douleiá den eíche o diávolos kai épnige ta paidiá tou, “the devil makes work for idle hands”) (literally: the devil didn't have anything to do and so he was drowning his children)
• and see: διαβολο-, διαβολό-, διαβολ-, διαολό-, διαολο-

Related terms

• άντε στο διάολο (ánte sto diáolo, “go to hell”) (also formed with διάβολο)
• α στο διάολο (a sto diáolo, “go to hell”) (also formed with άι)
• άντε στο διάλο (ánte sto diálo, “go to hell”)
• α στο διάλο (a sto diálo, “go to hell”)

• and see: άντε (ánte) for interchangeable interjections combined with διάβολο or διάολο or διάλο
• διάβολε (interjection)
• να πάρει ο διάβολος (na párei o diávolos)

Further reading

• διάβολος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el