Mephistopheles
英 [,mefi'stɔfili:z]
美
- n. 靡菲斯特（歌德所著《浮士德》中的魔鬼）
中文词源
Mephistopheles 恶魔，魔鬼
来自德国传说中的恶魔，引诱浮士德把灵魂卖给他以换取物质的满足。该词本身可能来自希伯来语mephitz,毁灭者，tophel,撒谎者，骗子，字面意思即骗子的毁灭者或骗王，用于指魔鬼。见歌德歌剧《浮士德》。
英英释意
- 1. evil spirit to whom Faust sold his soul
英文词源
- Mephistopheles
- 1590s, the evil spirit to whom Faust sold his soul in the German legend, from German (1587), of unknown origin. According to the speculation of eminent Göthe scholar K.J. Schröer (1886) it is a compound of Hebrew mephitz "destroyer" + tophel "liar" (short for tophel sheqer, literally "falsehood plasterer;" see Job xiii:4). Klein writes that the names of devils in the Middle Ages "are in most cases derived from Hebrew."