devilment

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English

WOTD – 31 October 2022

Etymology

From devil +‎ -ment (suffix forming nouns indicating the actions or results of what is denoted by the words it is attached to).

Pronunciation

Noun

devilment (usually uncountable, plural devilments)

  1. (uncountable) Devilish action or conduct; wickedness; (more generally) troublemaking behaviour; mischief; (countable) an instance of this.
    Synonym: devilry
    • 1840, M. A. Titmarsh [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], “The Painter’s Bargain”, in The Paris Sketch Book, volume I, London: John Macrone, , →OCLC, page 132:
      He lived so long, and in his worldly matters prospered so much, there was so little sign of devilment in the accomplishment of his wishes, and the increase of his prosperity, that Simon, at the end of six years, began to doubt whether he had made any such bargain at all, as that which we have described at the commencement of this history.
    • 1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XV, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, pages 129–130:
      It was just so with my Joe—always full of his devilment, and up to every kind of mischief, but he was just as unselfish and kind as he could be—and laws bless me, to think I went and whipped him for taking that cream, never once recollecting that I throwed it out myself because it was sour, and I never to see him again in this world, never, never, never, poor abused boy!
    • 1894, Horace Tucker, “Malduke Sets His Trap”, in The New Arcadia: An Australian Story, London, Melbourne, Vic.: George Robertson and Company, →OCLC, page 147:
      The stupid fellow hurriedly kissed the portrait, whipped out his knife, quick as lightning removed the miniatures, and substituted two photographs. Closing the case he deposited it carefully on a shelf containing a lot of girls' books and nicknacks. In a moment he was out of the room. Now what did all that mean? Some devilment, I'll be bound, for there was a wicked expression on the scoundrel's face all the while.
  2. (countable)
    1. A devilish, mischievous, or reckless nature; mischievousness.
    2. Something cruel or evil; also, something which causes distress or suffering.
    3. Something cleverly constructed.
    4. (often humorous) A dish which is devilled (“made piquant or spicy”); a devil; also, the elements of the dish which make it spicy, or the piquancy or spiciness of the dish.

Translations

troublemaking behaviour; an instance of this — see mischief
devilish, mischievous, or reckless nature — see mischievousness

References

  1. ^ “devilment, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “devilment, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
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