Pronounced: KWAHN-tuhm, noun/adj
Notes: I only know one meaning
Yesterday’s word
The word diablerie is
- black magic; sorcery
- a representation of sorcery in words or pictures
- mischievous conduct or manner
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1700s
Background / Comments
I saw the word “diabolos” (Spaning for “devil”) in our word, and that was close to the first two meanings, but not the third one. Our word came from the French word diablerie, which came from the Late Latin word diabolus (devil). The third definition was a later, somewhat mollified one, and I didn’t know this meaning.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 