Todays Word

 

diablerie

PRONUNCIATION:

(dee-AH-bluh-ree or dee-AB-luh-ree) 

MEANING:

noun:
1. Sorcery; witchcraft; black magic.
2. A representation of devils or demons in art or literature.
3. Mischievous manner or conduct.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French diable (devil), from Latin diabolus (devil), from Greek diabolos (slanderer), from diaballein (to slander), from dia- (across) + ballein (to hurl). Earliest documented use: 1653.

USAGE:

“[The hat] unquestionably lent a diablerie to my appearance, and mine is an appearance that needs all the diablerie it can get.”
P.G. Wodehouse; Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves; Simon & Schuster; 1963.