Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
A juggling apparatus consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string attached to handsticks.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Borrowed from French diabolo, from older diable (literally “devil”), fancifully altered after cognate Italian diavolo and/or their common source, Latin diabolus. First attested in the early 20th century. The Latin noun is from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos, “devil”), itself derived from the verb διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander”, literally “to throw across”). The notion that this literal sense of “throw across” could be applied to the diabolo itself has led some commentators to assume a direct semantic connection, but there is no evidence suggesting that it is anything other than a coincidence.
Across languages
14 source translations are retained for this English entry.
