Word of the Day

: March 5, 2007

diablerie

noun dee-AH-bluh-ree

What It Means

1 : black magic : sorcery

2 a : a representation in words or pictures of black magic or of dealings with the devil

b : demon lore

3 : mischievous conduct or manner

diablerie in Context

"Gekic can be a dazzling pianist full of diablerie when he's in the mood...." (James Roos, The Miami Herald, March 24, 2002)

Did You Know?

Feeling devilish? Then you might be guilty of at least a little diablerie. Like the related and perhaps more familiar "diabolical," the French "diablerie" originated with the Late Latin "diabolus," which means "devil." Fittingly, "diablerie" was first applied to things related to the devil or to demons, particularly sorcery that was thought to call upon their aid; the word is also applied to representations of the demonic. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and Sylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly Willowes contain examples of such representations in literature. Nowadays, the word often suggests a devilish quality or air in a musical performance or artistic work.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.