diablerie

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The Word of the Day for March 5 is:

diablerie   \dee-AH-bluh-ree\   noun
     1 : black magic : sorcery
     2 a : a representation in words or pictures of black magic or of dealings 
with the devil  b : demon lore
    *3 : mischievous conduct or manner

Example sentence:
     "Gekic can be a dazzling pianist full of diablerie when he's in the 
mood...." (James Roos, _The Miami Herald_, March 24, 2002)

Did you know?
     Feeling devilish? Then you might be guilty of at least a little diablerie. 
Like the related and perhaps more familiar "diabolical," the French "diablerie" 
originated with the Late Latin "diabolus," which means "devil." Fittingly, 
"diablerie" was first applied to things related to the devil or to demons, 
particularly sorcery that was thought to call upon their aid; the word is also 
applied to representations of the demonic. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman 
Brown" and Sylvia Townsend Warner's _Lolly Willowes_ contain examples of such 
representations in literature. Nowadays, the word often suggests a devilish 
quality or air in a musical performance or artistic work.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence. 







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