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ArchivesDesdemona: Of the devil or ill-fated?
According to someone on Namenerds, it could mean of the devil. Her reasoning:
As far as the etymology goes... dysdaimon, the Greek word that it comes from, contains two elements - dys and daimon. Daimon is also the word that "demon" was derived from. In Greek, though, and someone can correct me if I have this wrong, daimon was used for all theistic beings that weren't gods (ie spirits). Dys simply meant bad, so a literal translation then might have been "bad spirit" - so "of the devil" might not be far off.
On this board, it doesn't.
I'm curious... can it?
As far as the etymology goes... dysdaimon, the Greek word that it comes from, contains two elements - dys and daimon. Daimon is also the word that "demon" was derived from. In Greek, though, and someone can correct me if I have this wrong, daimon was used for all theistic beings that weren't gods (ie spirits). Dys simply meant bad, so a literal translation then might have been "bad spirit" - so "of the devil" might not be far off.
On this board, it doesn't.
I'm curious... can it?
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