devil

«devil» in Mova's school dictionary: the main evil spirit in some religions, the enemy of God — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a devil, devils; the Devil)

meaning for a pupil

1) The Devil is the main evil spirit in some religions, the enemy of God. tree →

2) A devil is any evil spirit or demon in stories. tree →

3) (informal) A little devil is a naughty child or person, said fondly. tree →

4) (informal) "Poor devil" means a person you feel sorry for; "lucky devil" means a lucky person. tree →

5) (mild swearing, old-fashioned) "What the devil...?" or "go to the devil!" show surprise or anger. tree →

6) A Tasmanian devil is a small, fierce black animal from Australia. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories and myths, devils are wicked figures with horns and tails. In everyday talk, "devil" is often a fond or mild word. In Australian science lessons, the Tasmanian devil is a marsupial. Phrases: speak of the devil (said when someone you were talking about arrives), devil's advocate, between the devil and the deep blue sea, the devil is in the detail.

examples

• In the story, the devil tricked the farmer. tree →
• You little devil, you hid my keys! tree →
• Speak of the devil, here comes Sam now! tree →
• The poor devil lost his wallet and his bus ticket. tree →
• What the devil is that noise? tree →
• Tasmanian devils live only in Tasmania. tree →
• You won a holiday? You lucky devil! tree →
• I'll play devil's advocate and argue the other side. tree →
• The Devil got hold of me. tree →

note

Capital D for the Devil in religion. Adjective: devilish. Mild exclamations ("what the devil") are old-fashioned and informal. Devilled eggs = spicy eggs. Myth: the Tasmanian devil is not dangerous to people unless cornered.

In the corpora

• Tasmanian devils are the biggest living meat-eating marsupials and scavenge as well as hunt.
• A contagious (catching) face cancer has killed many devils, and scientists keep healthy groups of devils safe to save the species.
• "Old Nick" (old-fashioned, UK) means the Devil.
• "Old Scratch" (old-fashioned, US) means the Devil.
• "The deuce", in old exclamations like "what the deuce?", means the Devil.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «devil» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.