English

Alternative forms

• Beëlzebub

Proper noun

Beelzebub

1. (biblical) A Canaanite deity worshipped at Ekron.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Matthew, 12:24

     But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

2. (Christianity) Satan, the Devil.

Translations

German

Pronunciation

Noun

Beelzebub m ‎(genitive Beelzebubes or Beelzebubs or Beelzebub, plural Beelzebube)

1. (singular only) Beelzebub
2. a demon, devil

Latin

Alternative forms

• Beelzebul

Etymology

Translating Ancient Greek Βεελζεβούλ ‎(Beelzeboúl) and Hebrew בעל זבוב ‎(ba‘al-z'būb, “fly-lord”); perhaps a corruption of Beelzebul, meaning Lord of the High Place, with -bul altered to -bub to change the meaning to Lord of the Flies.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /beˈel.ze.bub/, [bɛˈɛɫ.zɛ.bʊb]

Proper noun

Beelzebub m ‎(indeclinable)

1. biblical the god of the Philistine city of Ekron.
2. (pejorative) Beelzebul

References

• Beelzebub in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “Beelzebub”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.