Etymologically
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démon

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.mɔ̃/[1]

Forms

démon m (plural démons, feminine démone)[1] First demoygne (early 14th century), after Latin daemonium;[2][3][4] daemon in the 16th century, then démon.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin daemon (“spirit, genius; in Church Latin, evil spirit, devil; idol”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “divine power; fate; guardian spirit”).[2][3][1][5] The early form demoygne reflects Latin daemonium, from Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον (daimónion).[2][4]

The Greek word is derived from δαίομαι (daíomai, “to divide, distribute”), from an Indo-European root meaning “to share”, which also gave δῆμος (dêmos, “people”): etymologically it is the power that allots each person's fate.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Psalter of the early 14th century uses demoygne for the idols of Canaan, a divinity or idol.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Christian use it names the fallen angel, the devil (prince des démons, Furetière, 1690), and by extension a wicked person (Molière, 1663).[2][6] The Renaissance revived the Greek sense: Rabelais writes of bons Daemons, beings between gods and men (1546), and of the Daemon of Socrates (1552), his inner voice.[2][4]

Guez de Balzac (1652) uses it for the genius that rules the fate of a community, and, from 1694 (Boileau's démon du jeu) it personifies a vice or passion.[2] In modern use les vieux démons are temptations or quarrels thought to be gone.[7] The derivative démonerie is in Montaigne (1588).[2]

Timeline

  • Early 14th century – Demoygne “idol”.[2]
  • 1546 – Rabelais's bons Daemons.[2][4]
  • 1552 – Le Daemon de Socrate.[2]
  • 1652 – Guez de Balzac: the genius of a community.[2][6]
  • 1663 – Molière: a person who acts like a demon.[2]
  • 1690 – Furetière: prince des démons.[2]
  • 1694 – Boileau's démon du jeu.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (mythology) A supernatural being, good or evil, guiding the fate of a person or a city; a daemon, a genius: le démon de Socrate.[7][1]
  2. (literary) An inner force or inspiration: le démon de la solitude, les vieux démons.[7]
  3. A demon, a devil, an evil spirit, le Démon, Satan.[7][1]
  4. A personification of a vice or temptation: le démon du jeu, le démon de midi, a sudden urge in middle age.[2][7]
  5. A wicked person; of a child, a little devil.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 6a
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert