hell-deviln.
/ˈhɛlˌdɛvl/, U.S. /ˈhɛlˌdɛv(ə)l/ 1. A devil from hell; a person likened to such a creature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > [noun]
hell-devileOE
shuckc888
ghosteOE
devilOE
warlockOE
angelOE
unwighta1200
beastc1225
ragmanc1400
Satanasc1426
diabolic1502
ruffy1502
Satan?1545
Avernal?1548
fallen angel?1587
rebel angel1623
deedle1653
blackamoor1663
eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 86/2 Orcus, ðyrs, heldiobul.
OE Cynewulf Elene 900 Ongan þa hleoðrian helledeofol, eatol æclæca, yfela gemyndig.
c1390 (?a1350) Trental St. Gregory (Vernon(1)) l. 64 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 262 (MED) As hidous to bi-holden as helle-deuel.
a1631 J. Donne 50 Serm. (1649) xxiii. 196 No Hell-Devill, not Satan, no Earth-Devill, no Calumniator, can any more make those sins my sins.
a1767 E. Lye Dict. Saxonico & Gothico-Lat. (1772) I. Hel-deoful, hell-devil. Inferni diabolus, Orcus, Pluto.
1895 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 26 135 Thurse,..A. S. þyrs,..is used to gloss the Latin Orcus and Cacus and Cyclops, having in two instances the synonym heldeofol, heldiobol, ‘hell-devil’—a vigorous gloss.
1912 P. MacKaye Gettysburg in S. A. Leonard Atlantic Bk. Mod. Plays (1921) 172 Thar ain't no lookin': jest blind feelin' round in the black mud, and trampin' on boys' faces, and grapplin' with hell-devils.
2007 Evening Post (Nottingham) (Nexis) 19 Jan. It looks like the fiery hell devil which pulled Gandalf down into the bowels of the Mines of Moria in The Lord of the Rings.
2. U.S. A dobsonfly or its larva; = hellgrammite n. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > division Endopterygota or Metabola (winged) > [noun] > order Neuroptera > suborder Megaloptera > family Corydalidae > larva of corydalus cornutus or snake feeder
snake feeder1861
hellgrammite1866
snake doctora1883
go-devil1888
hell-devil1889
1889 in L. O. Howard Insect Bk. (1901) 212 The names in use in Rhode island alone for this insect [sc. Corydalis cornuta]..are: Dobsons,..hell devils, [etc.].
1914 Charleston (W. Va.) Mail 5 Nov. 8/2 The ordinary untrained hellgramite, hell-devil, or dobson, is a passive sort of animal, as all fishermen know.
1940 Sci. Monthly Apr. 361/2 The Dobson-fly..is the parent of the odd, water-living hellgrammite, crawler, hell-devil or conniption-bug.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.eOE