Apollyon
English
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἀπολλύων (Apollúōn, “Apollyon, the destroyer”), from ἀπόλλυμι (apóllumi, “utterly destroy”) via phono-semantic matching with Biblical Hebrew אֲבַדּוֹן (ʾaḇaddôn, “destruction, ruin”).
Proper noun
Apollyon
- (Christianity) The destroying angel of the abyss, the undoer or disintegrator.
- 1855, Robert Browning, chapter 27, in “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”:
- A great black bird, Apollyon's bosom-friend, / Sailed past, nor beat his wide wing dragon-penned / That brushed my cap—perchance the guide I sought.