diabo

Forms

diabo m (plural diabos)^[1] The oldest texts write diabo, diaboo and diabre, and the Crónica Geral also has diabro in one manuscript.^[2][3][4] According to the DDGM, diaboo is found from the 13th to the 15th century.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin diabolus (“devil”), the word of the Church, which is from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos, “slanderer; one who sets apart”).^[2][5][1] Wiktionary considers it a semi-learned word, and the oldest texts have Old Galician-Portuguese diaboo beside Old Galician-Portuguese diabre and Old Galician-Portuguese diabro; that form won out over the others.^[1][2]

The same Latin word is Spanish diablo, Catalan diable, French diable, Italian diavolo and Romanian diavol.^[6] Galician has diaño.^[1] In Spanish the word is first recorded as diábolo around 950 in the Glosas Emilianenses.^[7]

The Greek noun is formed from διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander”), a compound of δια- (dia-, “through”) and βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).^[1][7] In classical Greek the word was an adjective, “that sets people against each other”, and as a noun it meant “slanderer”;^[8] Christian Greek used it for the Devil.^[8]

Nascentes explains the modern form by the loss of the intervocalic /l/ and the merging of the two /o/ vowels of the older form.^[5] In his fuller dictionary he notes that the /b/ kept between vowels is due to learned influence or to the confusion of /b/ and /v/.^[9] Because it was a taboo word, it gave rise to many euphemisms, such as diacho, dianho and dialho.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is recorded from the 13th century.^[2] The Cantigas de Santa Maria speak of “the deceit of the devil” (por engano do diabo) and of devils “much blacker than coal”, and use the forms diaboo and diabre as well.^[3][10] Already in these texts the word names the Devil and the demons in the plural.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the medieval texts the word is the Christian Devil and his demons.^[3] Morais (1789) also records it of a very clever, lively man.^[11] Figueiredo (1899) adds the figurative senses of a bad-tempered or ugly person, and a variety of pear.^[12] Modern dictionaries add a mischievous child, an intensifier (a festa foi o diabo “it was a mess”), an expletive after a question word (que diabo…?) and an interjection of anger or surprise.^[2][13] In Brazil the word also renders the Tupi spirit Jurupari, and in the textile mills it named a machine for opening wool.^[2][14]

Timeline

• 13th century – the Cantigas de Santa Maria use diabo, diaboo and diabre.^[3][10]
• c. 1430 – first record in the CTA corpus, in the Horto do Esposo (copied 1390–1437).^[15]
• 1541 – diabos in a private letter.^[16]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders Diabo with Latin diabolus and calumniator.^[17]
• 1611 – Barbosa adds Latin daemon and cacodaemon.^[18]
• 1789 – Morais records the sense “very clever, lively man”.^[11]
• 1871 – Vieira's quotations include the Leal Conselheiro of Dom Duarte and the plays of Gil Vicente.^[19]

Meanings

Noun

1. The devil: the spirit of evil; in Christian belief Satan, the rebel angel cast out of heaven, often written with a capital.^[2][20][1]
2. Each of the demons, the fallen angels who serve Satan.^[2][21]
3. (figurative) A wicked or bad-tempered person; also an ugly person.^[2][22]
4. (figurative) A restless, mischievous person, especially a child; also a sharp, clever person.^[2][22][1]
5. (with the article) An intensifier meaning a great mess, a great deal or great energy: a festa foi o diabo.^[2][13]
6. (after a question word) An expletive: onde diabo…?^[2][13]
7. (Brazil) The Tupi spirit Jurupari.^[2]
8. (textiles) A machine that opens the wool in the mills.^[2][14]

Interjection

1. Expressing impatience, anger, surprise or admiration: diabo!^[2][21][1]

Word family

• diabinho
• diabozinho
• diabrete
• diabo-marinho

Related words

• diabólico
• diabolismo
• diabolô
• endiabrado
• endiabrar
• diacho
• dianho
• Latin diabolus
• Galician diaño
• Spanish diablo

Usage notes

Common set phrases are pobre diabo “a poor wretch, a nobody” and fazer o diabo a quatro “to raise a great commotion”.^[22] Diabo de saias is a tempting woman.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. diabo
3. ^ a b c d e Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. diabo
4. ^ a b Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. diaboo
5. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. diabo
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2622
7. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 486
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. diable
9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 156
10. ^ a b Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. diabre
11. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 434
12. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 442
13. ^ a b c Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. diabo
14. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. diabo
15. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. diabo
16. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. diabo
17. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. diabo
18. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. diabo
19. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 2, 1007
20. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. diabo
21. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. diabo
22. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. diabo