Satann.

Etymology: Originally < post-classical Latin Satan (see below). Subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French Sathan, Middle French Satan (French Satan ) the Devil (12th cent.), a (lesser) devil or evil spirit (12th cent.) < post-classical Latin Satan (Vulgate, only in the Old Testament) < Hebrew śāṭān adversary, person who plots against another (see below), of uncertain origin. (The Hebrew verb śāṭan ‘to oppose, plot against (a person)’ is rare and < the noun.) Compare Satanas n. and shaitan n. Compare also devil n.Notes on the biblical word. In the Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures the Hebrew word ordinarily denotes a human adversary, but in some of the later books (Job, Psalm 109, Zechariah, and Chronicles) it occurs (chiefly with the definite article) as the designation of an angelic being hostile to humankind, who tempts humans to evil and accuses them before God. In both applications the ordinary translation of the Hebrew word in the Septuagint is διάβολος slanderer (see devil n. and compare discussion at that entry); ἐπίβουλος ‘plotter’ occurs once; the one instance in which the Hebrew word is retained (1 Kings 11:14) relates clearly to a human enemy, and probably shows a transliteration of the Hebrew word. In the Greek New Testament the ordinary form is Σατανᾶς (see Satanas n.), which is followed by the Vulgate and hence by the Wycliffite Bible; Σατᾶν occurs only in an isolated attestation (2 Corinthians 12:7 in the Textus Receptus reading; modern critical editions have Σατανᾶς here). The English versions from Tyndale onwards (including the Rheims New Testament) all substitute the form Satan . Borrowings into other languages. The Latin word was also borrowed into many other European languages. Compare Catalan Satan (15th cent.), Spanish Satán (first half of the 13th cent.), Italian Satana (14th cent.; also †Satan ), and also Middle Dutch Satan , Sathan (Dutch Satan ), Middle Low German Satān , Middle High German Satān (German Satan ). Specific senses. In sense 3 after the sense ‘adversary’ of the Hebrew ulterior etymon. Historical variation in pronunciation. The pronunciation /ˈsætən/, which is mentioned disapprovingly by Walker (1828) and not given in later dictionaries, was, according to N.E.D. (1909), ‘still not uncommon in British liturgical and pulpit use c1900’.