Etymology and origin of the Spanish word satánico
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1573 a text from Mexico City in Boyd-Bowman's Léxico hispanoamericano More words from the 16th century
- Ultimate origin
- Biblical Hebrew שָׂטָן
Pronunciation
- /saˈtaniko/, [saˈt̪a.ni.ko][1]
Forms
satánico (feminine satánica, masculine plural satánicos, feminine plural satánicas)[1]
Etymology
It is formed from Spanish Satán + -ico.[1][2][3] Satán is from Latin Satan, from Biblical Hebrew שָׂטָן (śāṭān, “adversary, enemy”).[4][5][6]
Corriente lists the adjective among the derivatives of the name in Castilian and Galician, beside Catalan satànic, Portuguese satânico and French satanique.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record in Boyd-Bowman's Léxico hispanoamericano is from Mexico City in 1573: este espíritu satánico de división “this satanic spirit of division”.[7] A text from Mexico of 1585 speaks of a burnt delubro satánico, a pagan shrine.[7]
Semantic evolution
The adjective first meant “of or belonging to Satan”, as Salvá (1846) and Domínguez (1846) define it;[8][9] Domínguez also used it colloquially for “diabolical”.[8][9] The Academy's 1899 dictionary added the figurative sense “extremely wicked”, said especially of certain feelings and qualities.[2] The modern dictionary adds a sense referring to satanism, the worship of Satan.[10][11]
Timeline
- 1573 – first record in Boyd-Bowman, in Mexico City.[7]
- 1846 – Salvá and Domínguez define it as “belonging to Satan”.[8][9]
- 1866 – a Bogotá text speaks of a gozo satánico, a satanic joy.[7]
- 1899 – the Academy's dictionary derives it from Satán and adds the figurative sense.[2]
Meanings
Adjective
- Of or relating to Satan (Satán), the prince of the rebel angels; satanic.[10][1]
- Characteristic of Satan; diabolical.[10][11]
- Of or relating to satanism (satanismo): símbolos satánicos.[10][11]
- Of a fault or quality: extremely wicked: una venganza satánica.[10][12]
Related words
- Satanás
- satanismo
- diabólico
- Latin Satan
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 900
- ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1493
- ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 687
- ^ a b Corriente, Federico; Pereira, Christophe; Vicente, Ángeles (2019), Dictionnaire des emprunts ibéro-romans: emprunts à l'arabe et aux langues du monde islamique (Encyclopédie linguistique d'Al-Andalus 3), Berlin: De Gruyter, p. s.v. satã
- ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 633
- ^ a b c d Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. satánico
- ^ a b c Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá, p. 982
- ^ a b c Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 2, 1547
- ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. satánico
- ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. satánico
- ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. satánico
Cite this entry
“Satánico.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/sat%C3%A1nico. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·