Belial

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

/ ˈbi li əl, ˈbil yəl /

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for belial

They dreaded excommunication, men of Belial though they were.
The House of Walderne|A. D. Crake
When the sword of the Spirit began to be waved, Belial and his infernal legions began to retreat, and the Pope to falter.
The Sleeping Bard|Ellis Wynne
Belial signifies worthlessness; and hence, lawlessness, or evil.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 (of 7) -- Notes to the Canterbury Tales|Geoffrey Chaucer
Count not thy handmaid for one of the daughters of Belial: for out of the abundance of my sorrow and grief have I spoken till now.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

And he could scarce have charged him with more odious sin, than to be "A bloody man, and a man of Belial."
A Christian Directory (Part 4 of 4)|Richard Baxter

British Dictionary definitions for belial

Belial

/ (ˈbiːlɪəl) /

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.