Beelzebub Hear it!

Beelzebub definition

Be·el·ze·bub (bē el′zə bub′)

noun

  1. Bible the chief devil; Satan
    also Beelzebul Be·el′·ze·bul′ (-bo̵ol′)
  2. in Milton's Paradise Lost, Satan's chief lieutenant among the fallen angels

Etymology: LL(Ec) < Gr(Ec) Beelzeboub < Heb baal-zevuv, lit., god of flies < baal (see Baal) + zevuv, a fly: prob. deliberate pejorative alteration < Baʼal zebul; cf. Ugaritic zbl bʿl ʾrs, the exalted one, the lord of the earth

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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