Etymograph

English

demon

Demon comes from Medieval Latin dēmōn ‘lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit’, from Ancient Greek δαίομαι ‘to divide’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-1‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαι1daíomai‘to divide’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμων2daímōn‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500dēmōn2‘lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500demon2‘demon, devil, malicious spirit’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607demon2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English demon
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμωνdaíomai‘to divide’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνWiktionary, English demondaímōn‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500dēmōnWiktionary, English demon‘lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500demonWiktionary, English demon‘demon, devil, malicious spirit’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607demonWiktionary, English demon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “Oh Anthony […] Thy Dæmon that thy spirit which…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’

time, till, til, tide, tease, tass, 24 more

through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’

daemon, daimon, 16 more

Today it means

noun An evil being resident in or working for Hell; a devil.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “demon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek δαίμων. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- / demon

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