diabolic (English)

Where does "diabolic" come from?

The English word 'diabolic' is first attested in the period between 1350 and 1400[1]. It descends from the Middle English 'diabolik'[1], which derived from the Middle French 'diabolique'[1]. This adjective traces back to the Late Latin 'diabolicus'[1][2] and the Ancient Greek 'diabolikós', meaning 'devilish'[1][2]. The Greek root is formed from 'diábolos', which originally meant 'slanderer'[4]. This term itself comes from the verb 'diabállō', a combination of 'dia-', meaning 'across' or 'through', and 'bállō', meaning 'to throw'[4][6]. The ultimate origin is found in the Proto-Indo-European root '*gʷelH-', which carried the sense of 'to hit by throwing'[5].

Open questions

• Linguists hold differing views on whether the nasal infix in the root for throwing represents a progressive aspect marker or a specific phonetic development. [5]

Full etymology tree

• diabolic (English), 'Of, being, or pertaining to a devil or the Devil.'
  • inherited diabolik (Middle English)
    • borrowed diabolique (Middle French), 'diabolic (relating to the Devil or to devils)'
      • inherited diabolicus (Latin), 'diabolic'
        • derived διαβολικός (diabolikós) (Ancient Greek), 'slanderous'
          • compound διάβολος (diábolos) (Ancient Greek), 'slanderous; libellous'
            • derived διαβάλλω (diabállō) (Ancient Greek), 'to throw over or across'
              • compound δια- (dia-) (Ancient Greek), 'in different directions'
              • compound βάλλω (bállō) (Ancient Greek), 'to throw, cast, hurl'
                • inherited *gʷəlnō (Proto-Hellenic)
                  • inherited *gʷl̥-ne-h₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
                    • derived *gʷelH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing'
          • suffix -ικός (-ikós) (Ancient Greek), 'Added to noun stems to form adjectives: of or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic'

Ancestors

• *gʷelH- (Proto-Indo-European)
• diabolique (Middle French)
• diabolicus (Latin)
• διαβολικός (Ancient Greek)

Descendants and derived words

• diabolical (English)
• nondiabolic (English)

Sources

1. diabolic (English) - Wiktionary
2. diabolicus (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. διαβολικός (diabolikós) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
4. διάβολος (diábolos) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
5. βάλλω (bállō) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
6. διαβάλλω (diabállō) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris