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Beelzebub

[bee-el-zuh-buhb, beel-zuh-]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the chief devil; Satan.
  2. a devil.
  3. (in Milton's Paradise Lost) one of the fallen angels, second only to Satan.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for beelzebub

Historical Examples

  • They're given over to the worship of Beelzebub—half these church-going folks!

    The Christian

    Hall Caine

  • You know, Beelzebub is positively the worst mare in the Valley.

  • You are a fair and shining vessel (of a kind), but Beelzebub's at your heart.

    John Splendid

    Neil Munro

  • Grandfather of Beelzebub, is this a place to lie worshiping your fiends?

  • Blythe had been re-christened "Beelzebub" as an acknowledgment of the greatness of his fall.

British Dictionary definitions for beelzebub

Beelzebub

noun
  1. Old Testament a god of the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2)
  2. Satan or any devil or demon

Word Origin

Old English Belzebub, ultimately from Hebrew bá`al zebūb, literally: lord of flies
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for beelzebub

Beelzebub

Old English Belzebub, Philistine god worshipped at Ekron (2 Kings i:2), from Latin, used in Vulgate for New Testament Greek beelzeboub, from Hebrew ba'al-z'bub "lord of the flies," from ba'al "lord" + z'bhubh "fly." By later Christian writers often taken as another name for "Satan," though Milton made him one of the fallen angels.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
beelzebub in Culture

Beelzebub

[(bee-el-zuh-bub)]

Another name for Satan. Originally a Philistine god, he is called the Prince of Devils in the New Testament.

Note

Beelzebub also appears in Milton's Paradise Lost as one of the fallen angels, second only to Satan in power.

Note

By extension, a “Beelzebub” is any demon or evil spirit.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.