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daemon

American  
[dee-muhn] / ˈdi mən /

noun

  1. Classical Mythology.

    1. a god.

    2. a subordinate deity, as the genius of a place or a person's attendant spirit.

  2. a demon.


daemon British  
/ ˈdiːmən, diːˈmɒnɪk /

noun

  1. a demigod

  2. the guardian spirit of a place or person

  3. a variant spelling of demon

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of daemon

< Latin daemōn a spirit, an evil spirit < Greek daímōn a deity, fate, fortune; compare daíesthai to distribute

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“I’d love to have a daemon that can blow dry my hair for me,” she said.

From Salon Jul. 18, 2026

Whether sinful passions or unconscious destructive urges, distracting attachments or visceral impulses, desire is the daemon that makes us act, often against our own interests and those of others.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 8, 2026

Lyra lives in a universe parallel to our own, where people have a daemon - a companion spirit in animal form.

From BBC Oct. 21, 2025

And that little standoff between her daemon, the Golden Monkey, and the Spectre, right after the witch is killed in Cittàgazze—how does it relate to this journey that Mrs. Coulter is making?

From Slate Dec. 29, 2020

The young lady’s daemon is moving out from beside fee fox-fur coat.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

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