Belial

[bee-lee-uh l, beel-yuh l]

noun

Theology. the spirit of evil personified; the devil; Satan.
(in Milton's Paradise Lost) one of the fallen angels.

Origin of Belial

< Hebrew bəliyyaʿal, equivalent to bəlī without + yaʿal, worth, use

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for belial

Historical Examples of belial

Count not Thy handmaid for a daughter of Belial, wherever she is this day.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
The ingenuity of these sons of Belial in their pranks was beyond description.
War from the Inside
Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) Hitchcock
Simply glancing at it, you groveled hand and foot in Belial's grip.
G-r-r-r...!
Roger Arcot
But how is it,” said I, “that Belial does not wish to have these adorers himself?
The Sleeping Bard
Ellis Wynne
He was going to fiddle no more for sons of Belial and daughters of Aholah.
The Belovd Vagabond
William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for belial

Belial

noun

a demon mentioned frequently in apocalyptic literature: identified in the Christian tradition with the devil or Satan
(in the Old Testament and rabbinical literature) worthlessness or wickedness

Word Origin for Belial

C13: from Hebrew bəlīyya`al, from bəlīy without + ya`al worth

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 belial

Belial

early 13c., from Hebrew bel'yya'al "destruction," literally "worthless," from b'li "without" + ya'al "use." Wickedness as an evil force (Deut. xiii:13); later treated as a proper name for Satan (2 Cor. vi:15), though Milton made him one of the fallen angels.