démon French · revision 17627

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 14th century, Psautier|origins=grc δαίμων}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /de.mɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''démon''' ''m'' (plural démons, feminine démone)^(Wiktionary)

+ First ''demoygne'' (early 14th century), after Latin ''daemonium'';^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) ''daemon'' in the 16th century, then ''démon''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|daemon|t=spirit, genius; in Church Latin, evil spirit, devil; idol]], from [[grc|δαίμων|tr=daímōn|t=divine power; fate; guardian spirit]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|3, 6a) The early form [[m|fro|demoygne]] reflects [[la|daemonium]], from [[grc|δαιμόνιον|tr=daimónion]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ The Greek word is derived from [[m|grc|δαίομαι|tr=daíomai|t=to divide, distribute]], from an Indo-European root meaning “to share”, which also gave [[m|grc|δῆμος|tr=dêmos|t=people]]: etymologically it is the power that allots each person's fate.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A Psalter of the early 14th century uses ''demoygne'' for the idols of Canaan, a divinity or idol.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==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).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) 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.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ 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.^(TLFi) In modern use ''les vieux démons'' are temptations or quarrels thought to be gone.^(Petit Robert 2007) The derivative ''démonerie'' is in Montaigne (1588).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 14th century – ''Demoygne'' “idol”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1546 – Rabelais's ''bons Daemons''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1552 – ''Le Daemon de Socrate''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1652 – Guez de Balzac: the genius of a community.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1663 – Molière: a person who acts like a demon.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – Furetière: ''prince des démons''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1694 – Boileau's ''démon du jeu''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mythology)'' A supernatural being, good or evil, guiding the fate of a person or a city; a [[m|en|daemon]], a [[m|en|genius]]: ''le démon de Socrate''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' An inner force or inspiration: ''le démon de la solitude'', ''les vieux démons''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A [[m|en|demon]], a [[m|en|devil]], an evil spirit, ''le Démon'', [[Satan]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A personification of a vice or temptation: ''le démon du jeu'', ''le démon de midi'', a sudden urge in middle age.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A wicked person; of a child, a little devil.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cacodémon]]

+ * [[démoniaque]]

+ * [[diable]]

+ * [[grc|δαίμων|tr=daímōn]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}