Advertisement
🇪🇸Spanish Source WordCode: ES

diablillo

Pronunciation / Transliteration: djaˈβli.ʎo

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Imp/ɪmp/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #9500 frequency
Full Thesaurus
🇪🇸 Example Sentence in Spanish:

"El niño se portó como un pequeño diablillo."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A small, mischievous devil or sprite in folklore and mythology.

    "In the fantasy story, the troublesome imp played tricks on the travelers."
  2. 2

    A mischievous child who causes playful trouble.

    "The little boy was a regular imp, always hiding his sister's toys."
Advertisement

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The word originates from Middle English 'impe', meaning a young shoot or scion of a plant, derived from Old English 'impian' (to graft), borrowed from Late Latin 'imponere'. By the 16th century, the meaning shifted via the phrase 'imp of Satan' to denote a young or lesser devil, and eventually came to refer generally to a mischievous child.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Imp"?

Advertisement
Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Imp"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Imp" Synonym Map
Advertisement