Beelzebub

See also: Beëlzebub

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

First attested as Old English Belzebub,[1] from Latin Beelzebūb, the Vulgate's form of Ancient Greek Βεελζεβούλ (Beelzeboúl), from Hebrew בעל זבוב (ba‘al-z'vúv, fly-lord), mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 1 as “the god of Ekron”.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Beelzebub

  1. (biblical) A Canaanite deity worshipped at Ekron.
  2. (Christianity) Satan, the Devil.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:Satan
    • 1975, Freddie Mercury (lyrics and music), “Bohemian Rhapsody”, in A Night at the Opera, performed by Queen:
      Mamma mia, let me go / Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!

Translations

See also

References

  1. Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Beelzebub”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

German

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Noun

Beelzebub m (strong, genitive Beelzebubes or Beelzebubs or Beelzebub, plural Beelzebube)

  1. (singular only, Christianity, Judaism) Beelzebub
    • 1995, “Über Sex kann man nur auf Englisch singen”, in Digital ist Besser, performed by Tocotronic:
      Doch gibt's ein Verlangen zu beschreiben / Den Teufel mit dem Beelzebub vertreiben
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. demon, devil

Declension

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Translating Ancient Greek Βεελζεβούλ (Beelzeboúl) and Biblical Hebrew בעל זבוב (Ba‘al-z'būb, fly-lord); perhaps a corruption of Beelzebul, meaning Lord of the High Place, with -bul altered to -bub to change the meaning to Lord of the Flies.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Beelzebub m (indeclinable)

  1. (biblical) the god of the Philistine city of Ekron.
  2. (derogatory) Beelzebul

References

  • Beelzebub”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Beelzebub in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.