n. 1. The Devil; Satan. 2. One of the fallen angels in Milton's Paradise Lost. Beelzebub was next to Satan in power. 3. An evil spirit; a demon. [Middle English, from Old English Belzebub, from Late Latin Beelzebūb, from Late Greek Beelzeboub, from Hebrew ba'al zəbûb, lord (of the) fly, alteration of ba'al zəbûl, lord prince; see bʿl in the Appendix of Semitic roots.] |
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