diabolical

Etymology

It is formed from English diabolic + -al,^[2][3][4] and the revised OED analyses it as Latin diabolicus with the same suffix, noting the earlier adjective.^[1] The base is from Middle French diabolique,^[1] from Late Latin diabolicus,^[1][2][3] from Ancient Greek διαβολικός (diabolikós, “slanderous; later devilish”),^[1] from διάβολος (diábolos, “devil, originally a slanderer”),^[1][5] from διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander”), from διά (diá, “across”) and βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).^[5] The shorter adjective is recorded from about 1399, as Middle English deabolik,^[2][3] and the American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate trace diabolical itself to that form, with Merriam-Webster dating it to the 14th century.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or involving the Devil, or caused by him: 1502, in a translation of the Ordynarye of Crysten Men printed by de Worde.^[1] Barnhart gives 1503,^[2] and Etymonline about 1500.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From the Devil's own domain the word moved to behaviour worthy of a devil, "fiendish, wicked", in 1546,^[1][3] and to a devilish appearance in 1752.^[1] A rare noun for a person influenced by the Devil dates from about 1547.^[1][4] The weakened sense "awful, disgraceful" is recorded by the OED from a letter of 1750, chiefly in British colloquial use,^[1] although the Shorter Oxford places it in the mid-20th century as slang.^[4] The word then became an intensifier, as in the phrase diabolical liberty, from 1933 in the OED;^[1] Green's Dictionary of Slang quotes "It's a diabolical liberty" from Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy (1958).^[8]

Timeline

• 1502 – of, belonging to or caused by the Devil.^[1]
• 1546 – like a devil in nature, fiendish, wicked.^[1][3]
• c. 1547 – noun, a person influenced by the Devil, a wicked person.^[1]
• 1750 – awful, disgraceful.^[1]
• 1752 – like a devil in appearance.^[1]
• 1933 – as an intensifier, outright, utter, often in diabolical liberty.^[1]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or coming from the devil; satanic.^[6][9][1]
2. Fitting a devil in wickedness or cruelty; fiendish: a diabolical plot against the king.^[6][1][10]
3. Like a devil in appearance.^[9][1]
4. (informal, chiefly British) Very bad or unpleasant: The traffic on the ring road was diabolical.^[11][10][1]
5. (informal, chiefly British) As an intensifier, complete or outright: a diabolical liberty.^[11][12][1]

Noun

1. (rare) A person influenced by the Devil; a wicked person.^[1][4]

Word family

• diabolically
• diabolicalness

Related words

• diabolic
• devil
• diabolo
• ballistics

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
6. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers