sea-deviln.
1. A devil supposed to inhabit the sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] > that inhabits sea
sea-devilc1595
Davy Jones1726
c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 14 I thinke wee weare haunted with some divelish witches, or at least with some sea divells.
a1711 T. Ken Edmund in Wks. (1721) II. i. 23 The Sea-Devil, Dagon.
1891 R. Kipling Light that Failed viii. 155 Sea-devils and sea-angels, and the soul half drowned between them.
2. A name for various ugly fish, as the fishing-frog, various large rays, etc. Cf. devil fish n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Pleurotremata > [noun] > angel-fish or monk-fish
monkfish1582
sea-monk1611
sea-devil1634
kingston1666
angelfish1668
skate1668
piper1673
mermaid fish1738
fiddle-fish1748
fiddler1750
monk1756
angel shark1776
shark-ray1836
puppy-fish1880
squat1884
sea-angel1891
the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Hypotremata > [noun] > member of family Dasyatidae (sting-ray)
sting ray1624
sea-devil1634
fiery-flaw1684
fire-flaw1684
whip-ray1699
fire-flaira1705
devil fish1737
trygon1749
stingaree1838
sephen1854
sting-tail1872
fiery-flare1889
the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Hypotremata > [noun] > member of family Mobulidae
sea-devil1634
manta1758
vampire1867
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > [noun] > order Batrachoidiformes > toad-fish
sea-devil1634
sarpo1753
oysterfish1855
frogfish1953
sargassum angler1961
the world > animals > fish > subclass Elasmobranchii > order Hypotremata > [noun] > family Rajidae > member of family Rajidae (ray)
reighOE
roughlOE
rayc1350
flathec1440
rayfisha1500
Raja1633
centrine1661
flair1668
sea-cow1722
ox-ray1862
sea-devil1881
rajoid1890
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxv. xxi. 1004 The effigies of a Sea Devill [L. Daemonis marini effigies; Fr. Figure hideuse d'un Diable de mer].
1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands 105 There is sometimes taken by the Fishers a Monster which is ranked among the kinds of Sea-Devils [Fr. Diables de Mer],..what got it the name of Sea-Devil is, that above the eyes there are two little black horns..like those of a Ram.
1686 F. Willughby & J. Ray De Hist. Piscium 85 Rana piscatrix. The Toad-fish or Frog-fish, or Sea-Divel.
1842 in Mem. Amer. Acad. (1846) II. 516 Cephaloptera vampyrus, Sea-Devil.
1848 Zoologist 6 1976 Angel Fish, Squatina angelus. This strange fish..is frequently called a ‘monk’ and still more commonly a ‘sea-devil’.
1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 44 The Ox Ray or Sea-devil, Dicerobatis giornæ.
1882 D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert Synopsis Fishes N. Amer. 52 Manta birostris... Sea Devil; Devil Fish.
3. figurative. Any formidable engine of submarine warfare.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > engine of submarine warfare
sea-devil1878
1878 N. Amer. Rev. Sept. 230 One of these stealthy and effective sea-devils [torpedoes].
1902 Daily Chron. 14 Oct. 5/2 The two British submarines..go out almost daily for the purpose of familiarising officers and seamen with the mechanism of these ‘modern sea-devils’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2020).
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n.c1595