1. [n]  a word used in exclamations of confusion; "what the devil"; "the deuce with it"; "the dickens you say"
2. [n]  one of the evil spirits of traditional Jewish and Christian belief
3. [n]  (Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
4. [n]  a rowdy or mischievous person (usually a young man); "he chased the young hellions out of his yard"
5. [n]  a cruel wicked and inhuman person
6. [v]  coat or stuff with a spicy paste; "devilled eggs"
7. [v]  cause annoyance in; disturb, esp. by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"

1. \Dev"il\, n. [AS. de['o]fol, de['o]ful; akin to G. ?eufel,
   Goth. diaba['u]lus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. ? the
   devil, the slanderer, fr. ? to slander, calumniate, orig., to
   throw across; ? across + ? to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr.
   gal to fall. Cf. {Diabolic}.]
   1. The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and
      spiritual of mankind.
            [Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil.
                                                  --Luke iv. 2.
            That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
            deceiveth the whole world.            --Rev. xii. 9.
   2. An evil spirit; a demon.
            A dumb man possessed with a devil.    --Matt. ix.
                                                  32.
   3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. ``That devil
      Glendower.'' ``The devil drunkenness.'' --Shak.
            Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a
            devil?                                --John vi. 70.
   4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or,
      ironically, of negation. [Low]
            The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a
            timepleaser.                          --Shak.
            The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But
            wonder how the devil they got there.  --Pope.
   5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and
      excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.
            Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting
            oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron. --Sir
                                                  W. Scott.
   6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton,
      etc.
   {Blue devils}. See under {Blue}.
   {Cartesian devil}. See under {Cartesian}.
   {Devil bird} (Zo["o]l.), one of two or more South African
      drongo shrikes ({Edolius retifer}, and {E. remifer}),
      believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery.
   {Devil may care}, reckless, defiant of authority; -- used
      adjectively. --Longfellow.
   {Devil's apron} (Bot.), the large kelp ({Laminaria
      saccharina}, and {L. longicruris}) of the Atlantic ocean,
      having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat
      like an apron.
   {Devil's coachhorse}. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) The black rove beetle ({Ocypus olens}). [Eng.]
      (b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect ({Prionotus
          cristatus}); the wheel bug. [U.S.]
   {Devil's darning-needle}. (Zo["o]l.) See under {Darn}, v. t.
   {Devil's fingers}, {Devil's hand} (Zo["o]l.), the common
      British starfish ({Asterias rubens}); -- also applied to a
      sponge with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.]
   {Devil's riding-horse} (Zo["o]l.), the American mantis
      ({Mantis Carolina}).
   {The Devil's tattoo}, a drumming with the fingers or feet.
      ``Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot
      heels.'' --F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.).
   {Devil worship}, worship of the power of evil; -- still
      practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil
      forces of nature are of equal power.
   {Printer's devil}, the youngest apprentice in a printing
      office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing
      the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. ``Without fearing the
      printer's devil or the sheriff's officer.'' --Macaulay.
   {Tasmanian devil} (Zo["o]l.), a very savage carnivorous
      marsupial of Tasmania ({Dasyurus, or Diabolus, ursinus}).
   {To play devil with}, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]
   

2. \Dev"il\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Deviled}or {Devilled}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Deviling}or {Devilling}.]
   1. To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a
      devil.
   2. To grill with Cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking,
      as with pepper.
            A deviled leg of turkey.              --W. Irving.
   

(Gr. diabolos), a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest (Job 1:6; Rev. 2:10; Zech. 3:1). He is called also "the accuser of the brethen" (Rev. 12:10).

In Lev. 17:7 the word "devil" is the translation of the Hebrew _sair_, meaning a "goat" or "satyr" (Isa. 13:21; 34:14), alluding to the wood-daemons, the objects of idolatrous worship among the heathen.

In Deut. 32:17 and Ps. 106:37 it is the translation of Hebrew _shed_, meaning lord, and idol, regarded by the Jews as a "demon," as the word is rendered in the Revised Version.

In the narratives of the Gospels regarding the "casting out of devils" a different Greek word (daimon) is used. In the time of our Lord there were frequent cases of demoniacal possession (Matt. 12:25-30; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:35; 10:18, etc.).