See Also: infernal(dictionary)
infernal(dictionary)

infernal (iou)



infernal adjective & noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French from Christian Latin infernalis, from infernus below, subterranean, later used as noun = hell, after masc. pl. inferni the shades, neut. pl. inferna the lower regions; parallel to Latin inferus (see INFERIOR) as supernus SUPERNAL to superus (see SUPERIOR): see -AL1.]
A. adjective.
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the underworld of ancient mythology, or hell in Jewish and Christian belief. LME.
Milton The flocking shadows pale Troop to the infernal jail. C. Kingsley The infernal hiss and crackle of the flame.
Devilish, fiendish. LME.
W. K. Kelly An infernal plot..had been formed;..miscreants went about, poisoning food.
Detestable, tiresome. colloq. M18.
E. Waugh What's all this infernal nonsense about boots?
Special collocations: infernal machine arch. an apparatus (usu. disguised) for producing an explosion to destroy life or property.
b. noun.
An inhabitant of the underworld or hell; a devil. Usu. in pl. L16.
b. A person or thing of infernal character. Formerly spec. an infernal machine. Now rare. L16.
In pl. The infernal regions. Long rare. E17.
infer'nality noun (a) rare the infernal world and its occupants; (b) the quality of being infernal; an instance of this: L16.
infernalize verb trans. give a fiendish or infernal character to E19.
infernally adverb M17.