diablerie
Americannoun
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diableries
plural
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diabolic magic or art; sorcery; witchcraft.
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the domain or realm of devils.
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the lore of devils; demonology.
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reckless mischief; deviltry.
noun
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magic or witchcraft connected with devils
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demonic lore or esoteric knowledge of devils
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the domain of devils
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devilry; mischief
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of diablerie
First recorded in 1650–60; from French: literally, “mischief,” from Old French diablerie, deablerie “an act inspired by the devil, sorcery,” equivalent to diable “devil” + -erie noun suffix; see devil, -ery
Explanation
Diablerie is a word that has to do with both mischief and the macabre. It describes anything from devilish behavior to black magic and dealings with the devil. The word is borrowed from the Middle French word diablerie, which is rooted in diable, "the devil." In English, it has two main shades of meaning: It can refer to sorcery, witchcraft, dark magic, or representations and descriptions of demons in art and literature. In 19th-century literature, it was a popular way to describe eerie or supernatural occurrences that defied explanation. But it also refers, in a more lighthearted way, to mischievous or "devilish" behavior.
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:
Belated days of sunshine quickened all Hungary last week, speeding the Danube with tumbling freshets, warming Budapest to humorous appreciation of the first spring diablerie of Sari Fedak.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bassan dies, not according to prophetic schedule, but largely because of Fedora's diablerie, ahead of time.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Maestro gets his laughs out of diablerie and the grotesque.
From Time Magazine Archive
Every tale of diablerie she had ever heard came most inopportunely to haunt her now, and though she felt their folly she could not free herself from their dominion.
From Moods by Louisa May Alcott
Some eighteen months had elapsed in this fashion when Aurore began to tire of diablerie.
From Famous Women: George Sand by Bertha Thomas
By what may or may not be coincidence, their admirably precise diableries are also gentler, more conventional, more philosophical, more ethereal than their American counterparts'.
From Time Magazine Archive
But in spite of his temper and his diableries he was very lovable and everybody liked him.
From The Sheik by E. M. (Edith Maude) Hull
I want it to be pleasant and gay, and to throw myself en garçon on the festive diableries de Paris.
From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1, 1833-1856 by Georgina Hogarth
I perceive that many amateur American Al-Raschids are abroad in the land, pockets echoing the tintinnabulation of manifold marks and eyes abulge at the prospect of midnight diableries.
From Europe After 8:15 by Thomas H. Benton
During their sojourn within college walls, the rumours of diableries, of which his younger son had been the hero, were scarce compensated by the reports of scholastic triumphs on the part of the elder.
From The Finger of Fate A Romance by Mayne Reid
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
