Mephistopheles

[ mef-uh-stof-uh-leez ]

noun
  1. Medieval Demonology. one of the seven chief devils and the tempter of Faust.

  • Also Me·phis·to [muh-fis-toh]. /məˈfɪs toʊ/.

Other words from Mephistopheles

  • Meph·is·to·phe·li·an, Meph·is·to·phe·le·an [‐stuh-fee-lee-uhn], /‐stəˈfi li ən/, adjective

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How to use Mephistopheles in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles

Mephisto (məˈfɪstəʊ)

/ (ˌmɛfɪˈstɒfɪˌliːz) /


noun
  1. a devil in medieval mythology and the one to whom Faust sold his soul in the Faust legend

Derived forms of Mephistopheles

  • Mephistophelean or Mephistophelian (ˌmɛfɪstəˈfiːlɪən), adjective

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

Cultural definitions for Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles

[ (mef-i-stof-uh-leez) ]


In the drama Faust by Goethe, a devil who tempts Faust into selling his soul to the powers of darkness. Mephistopheles also appears, with his name spelled Mephistophilis, in the sixteenth-century English play Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.