Etymograph

English

demonic

Demonic comes from Latin daemonicus ‘demonic, devilish’, from Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘divine power’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’.

  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 BCEδαίμων2‘divine power’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαιμονικός2daimonikós‘possessed by a demon, sent by a demon’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdaemonicus2‘demonic, devilish’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1999demonic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English demonic
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams: “Aristotle concedes that the nature of the dream is…”.

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 demonic‘divine power’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαιμονικόςWiktionary, English demonicdaimonikós‘possessed by a demon, sent by a demon’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdaemonicusWiktionary, English demonic‘demonic, devilish’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1999demonicWiktionary, English demonic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams: “Aristotle concedes that the nature of the dream is…”

Linked words

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

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

through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘divine power’

daemon, daimon, 16 more

Today it means

adj Pertaining to demons or evil spirits; demoniac.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “demonic”; 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- / demonic

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