diablerie
Americannoun
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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
The Maestro gets his laughs out of diablerie and the grotesque.
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
Ladies in plenty were eager to know the young man who played Luce with such diablerie and ready wit upon the stage.
From The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the First by Gozzi, Carlo
The world was speedily full of romances of his recklessness, his intrigues, his diablerie, and his munificence.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 7 by Warner, Charles Dudley
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 Hull, E. M. (Edith Maude)
What if no more are the grisettes of Paul de Kock and Murger to fascinate the eye with wistful diableries?
From Europe After 8:15 by Benton, Thomas H.
He cannot be unreal—the "convincingness" of his most sordid as of his most splendid passages; of his most fantastic diableries as of his most everyday studies of society; is unsurpassed.
From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by Saintsbury, George
There is one more diabolical picture in our budget, engraved by Mr. Thompson, the same dexterous artist who has rendered the former diableries so well.
From George Cruikshank by Thackeray, William Makepeace
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
