infernal
English
Etymology
From Middle French infernal, from Latin infernālis, from infernus (“below, subterranean”).
Adjective
infernal (comparative more infernal, superlative most infernal)
- Of or relating to hell, or the world of the dead; hellish.
- (by extension) Of or relating to a fire or inferno.
- Stygian, gloomy.
- Diabolical or fiendish.
- 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I, lines 34–36:
- Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile
- Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd
- The Mother of Mankind
- Addison
- the instruments or abettors in such infernal dealings
-
- (as an expletive, not vulgar) Very annoying; damned.
- 1905, Bram Stoker, The Man
- As I had to put up with the patronage and the lecturings, and the eyeglass of that infernal old woman, […]
- 1905, Bram Stoker, The Man
Antonyms
- (of or relating to hell): heavenly
Related terms
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Noun
infernal (plural infernals)
- (obsolete) An inhabitant of the infernal regions.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Drayton to this entry?)
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for infernal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin infernālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛ̃.fɛʁ.nal/
Adjective
infernal (feminine singular infernale, masculine plural infernaux, feminine plural infernales)
Related terms
Further reading
- “infernal” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Old French
Etymology
From Latin infernālis
Adjective
infernal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular infernale)
- infernal (relating to hell)
Declension
Number | Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Subject | infernals, infernaus, infernax | infernale | infernal |
Oblique | infernal | infernale | infernal | |
Plural | Subject | infernal | infernales | infernal |
Oblique | infernals, infernaus, infernax | infernales | infernal |
Portuguese
Adjective
infernal m or f (plural infernais, comparable)
- (Christianity) hellish; infernal (from or relating to hell)
- diabolical; evil; infernal
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin infernalis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /inferˈnal/, [ĩɱferˈnal]
Adjective
infernal (plural infernales)
Related terms
Further reading
- “infernal” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.