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devilish

adj
/ˈdɛvəlɪʃ/

Etymology

From Middle English develissh, develyssh, equivalent to devil + -ish. Cognate with Saterland Frisian düvelsk, düüwelsk (“devilish”), West Frisian duvelsk (“devilish”), Dutch duivels (“devilish”), German Low German düvelsk (“devilish”), German teuflisch (“devilish”), Danish djævelsk (“devilish”), Swedish djävulsk (“devilish”), Norwegian djevelsk (“devilish”).

  1. inherited from develissh

Definitions

  1. Resembling a devil.

    • Let vs put on our meet incountering mindes, / And in deteſting ſuch a diueliſh Thiefe, / In loue of honor and defence of right / Be arm’d againſt the hate of ſuch a foe, / Whether from earth, or hell, or heauen he grow.

  2. Evil, wicked.

    • For I abhore to smatter / Of one so deuyllysshe a matter.

  3. Roguish or mischievous.

    • a devilish grin
    • [S]he gave me that lovely devilish smile that said: I like liberty, and not necessarily accountability.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. Excessive, extreme.

      • A devilish effort yielded a devilish success.
      • I had a devilish time moving the wardrobe downstairs.

    2. Devilishly

      Devilishly; very; exceedingly.

      • It was devilish hot outside today.
      • Only I wish it had gone the other way for it's devilish awkward for me as it happens.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for devilish. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA