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.
Dev"il (?), n. [AS. deófol, deóful; akin to G.
&?;eufel, Goth. diabaúlus; 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 (Zoöl.), 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.
(Zoöl.) (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. (Zoöl.)
See under Darn, v. t. -- Devil's fingers, Devil's hand (Zoöl.), the common British starfish (Asterias
rubens); -- also applied to
a sponge with stout branches. [Prov.
Eng., Irish & Scot.] -- Devil's riding-horse (Zoöl.), 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
(Zoöl.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial
of Tasmania (Dasyurus, or
Diabolus, ursinus). -- To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]
Hear it pronounced