djävul

From Old Swedish diævul, from Old Norse djǫfull, ultimately from Latin diabolus, from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos). Compare Norwegian djevel, Danish djævel, Icelandic djöfull, English devil, German Teufel, Dutch duivel.

djävul c

1. a devil (evil creature)
   • 1945, Frans G. Bengtsson, Röde Orm [The Long Ships]‎^[1], Norstedt & Söners förlag, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 2 October 2025:

     — Är det djävlar eller spöken de [springer] för? sade Orm.

     "Are they running from devils or ghosts?" said Orm.

2. (in the definite: djävulen) the devil (Satan)

   Synonyms: fan, satan

   • 2010, Lars Cavallin, transl., Katolska kyrkans katekes [Catechism of the Catholic Church]‎^[2], Catholica, archived from the original on 22 December 2023, §414:

     Satan eller djävulen och de andra onda andarna är [fallna] änglar.

     Satan or the devil and the other evil spirits are fallen angels.

3. a devil (bad part of the conscience)
   • 2023 August 22, Nyhetsmorgon, “Erik om spelmissbruket: 'Hade 100 kronor kvar – två timmar efter lön' [Erik on his gambling addiction: "I had 100 kronor left — two hours after getting paid]”, in TV4‎^[3], archived from the original on 1 October 2025:

     [Det] sitter en liten djävul på ena axeln och säger att "vi spelar lite så kanske vi vinner tillbaka pengarna".

     There's a little devil sitting on one of my shoulders, saying, "If we gamble a little, maybe we'll win the money back."

4. a devil (wicked or naughty person)
   • 2000, 1973 års bibelkommission, “Johannesevangeliet [John] 6:70”, in Bibel 2000‎^[4], © Svenska Bibelsällskapet, accessed at Bible.com, archived from the original on 2 October 2025:

     »Har jag inte själv valt ut er tolv? Och ändå är en av er en djävul.«

     "Have I not chosen you twelve myself? And yet one of you is a devil."

• jävel

• djävul in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
• djävul in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)