demonomachy

English

Etymology

From demono- +‎ -machy.

Noun

demonomachy (plural demonomachies)

1. (rare) A battle between or against demons or devils.
   • 1997, Stuart Clark, “Possession, Exorcism, and History”, in Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, published 1999, →ISBN, page 411:

     For other conceptual symmetries are apparent between the overall patterning of Christian history and the notion that devils could both take possession of and be forced out of individual Christians. They stem from the depiction of the whole historical process as a demonomachy and its subdivision into stages marked by the relative strengths of God and the devil.