diavolo

Forms

diavolo m (plural diavoli, diminutive diavolétto or diavolìno, augmentative diavolóne, pejorative diavolàccio, derogatory diavolùccio)^[1] The TLIO's early forms include Old Italian diabolo, diaulo and diavoro.^[2] The feminine is diavola or diavolessa.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin diabolus (“devil”), the word of Christian Latin.^[5][6][7] DELI, Nocentini and GDLI call it semi-learned: it has been in use without a break, but its form was kept close to the Latin heard in church.^[5][6][3] Nocentini gives the steps ⟨diabolu⟩ > ⟨diaolu⟩ > ⟨diaolo⟩ > ⟨diavolo⟩.^[6] Fully inherited forms, with an initial /dʒ/, survive only in dialects, such as ⟨giàolo⟩ at Vicenza and ⟨ghiàvolo⟩ at Pisa.^[8]

The Latin word is from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos, “slanderer”), from διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander, set at odds”), literally “to throw across”, formed with δια- (dia-) and βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).^[5][6][7] In Christian Greek it rendered Biblical Hebrew שָׂטָן (śāṭān, “adversary”).^[9][10]

The word is found throughout Romance: French diable, Occitan diable, Catalan diable, Spanish diablo, Portuguese diabo and Romanian diavol.^[6][11] Borrowed into Germanic in the imperial period, it became German Teufel and English devil.^[6][11] Euphemistic distortions include diamine and diascolo.^[11][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the form diabolu in an Umbrian confession formula of 1065, from Norcia, for the lord of sin and temptation.^[2][5] The form diavolo appears in the 13th century in Ruggieri Apugliese.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word was soon applied to people: a wicked person in Boccaccio (1353), and a lively, restless one in Poliziano (about 1480).^[5] Its use to reinforce exclamations and questions (che diavolo…?) goes back to the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century.^[5] Old Italian already had the proverb that the devil is not as black as he is painted, il diavolo non è nero come si dipinge.^[2]

Fare il diavolo a quattro, to raise hell, is a calque of French faire le diable à quatre (1644), which goes back to medieval plays in which the devils usually appeared four at a time.^[5] Avvocato del diavolo, the devil's advocate, was the theologian who argued the case against a candidate for sainthood, and figuratively anyone who raises objections.^[9][7] French diabolo, the juggling toy (1906), may owe something to Italian diavolo.^[12]

Timeline

• 1065 – Diabolu appears in an Umbrian confession formula.^[2][5]
• 13th century – Ruggieri Apugliese uses the form diavolo.^[5]
• End of the 13th century – The Novellino uses diavolo in exclamations.^[5]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses it for a wicked person.^[5]
• About 1480 – Poliziano uses it for a lively, restless person.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The devil, the spirit of evil in Judaism and Christianity, identified with Lucifer or Satan; also any demon: Nell'affresco il diavolo ha corna e coda.^[7][13][4]
2. A very lively, restless person, especially a child: Tuo figlio è un diavolo, non sta fermo un attimo.^[7][14][15]
3. A clever, cunning person; also buon diavolo, a good-natured fellow, and povero diavolo, a poor wretch.^[7][13][9]
4. (tarot) The fifteenth card of the major arcana.^[7]

Interjection

1. Expressing surprise, impatience or anger: Diavolo, che freddo!^[7][1]
2. In questions, as an intensifier: Dove diavolo hai messo le chiavi?^[7][1]

Word family

• diavoleria
• diavoletto
• diavolino
• diavolessa
• diavola
• indiavolato
• diavolio
• diavolaccio

Related words

• diabolico
• demonio
• satana
• diamine
• Latin diabolus

Usage notes

Common phrases include andare al diavolo “to go to ruin”, mandare al diavolo “to send packing”, avere un diavolo per capello “to be in a foul temper”, avere il diavolo in corpo “to be unable to keep still” and abitare a casa del diavolo “to live miles from anywhere”.^[7][13][9] The pronunciation is /ˈdja.vo.lo/, less often /diˈa.vo.lo/.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 334
4. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 144
9. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1285
11. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
12. ^ Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli