Demon Meaning
/ˈdiː.mən/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn evil supernatural being.
nounAn evil supernatural being., An evil being resident in or working for Hell; a devil.
Sentence Examples
The demon lord finally lost consciousness and fell to the floor with a thud.
The demon grabbed my sister and, with howling laughter, cast her into a bottomless pit.
It is rumored that this house is inhabited by a demon.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ancient text described a fearsome ____ that guarded the treasure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ lord finally lost consciousness and fell to the floor with a thud.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English demon, a borrowing from Medieval Latin dēmōn, daemōn (“lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “dispenser, god, protective spirit”). Displaced native Old English sċucca and Old English þyrs. Doublet of daimon.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"So what does the Gospel of Judas really say? It says that Judas is a specific demon called the "Thirteenth." In certain Gnostic traditions, this is the given name of the king of demons - an entity known as Ialdabaoth who lives in the 13th realm above the earth. Judas is his human alter ego, his undercover agent in the world. These Gnostics equated Ialdabaoth with the Hebrew Yahweh, whom they saw as a jealous and wrathful deity and an opponent of the supreme God whom Jesus came to earth to reveal.
Whoever wrote the Gospel of Judas was a harsh critic of mainstream Christianity and its rituals. Because Judas is a demon working for Ialdabaoth, the author believed, when Judas sacrifices Jesus he does so to the demons, not to the supreme God. This mocks mainstream Christians' belief in the atoning value of Jesus' death and in the effectiveness of the Eucharist."
— 2007 December 2, April D. DeConick, “What the Gospel of Judas really says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Nov 2011, Essay:
"After a short spell on an adult psychiatric ward, she decided to find her own way to deal with her demons."
— 2013 January 21, The Guardian:
"Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which keepes thee, is Noble, Couragious, high vnmatchable."
— c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
"“You saw her. And I picked her up,” Lyra said, blushing, because of course it was a gross violation of manners to touch something so private as someone else's dæmon."
— 2000, Phillip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass:
"Let the orders now be that each demon is to stop all molecules from crossing his area in either direction except 100 coming from A, arbitrarily chosen to be let pass into B, and a greater number, having among them less energy but equal momentum, to cross from B to A."
— 1874, William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, “Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy” in Nature 9, 441-444
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ancient text described a fearsome ____ that guarded the treasure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ lord finally lost consciousness and fell to the floor with a thud.