devel
Scottish and northern English dialect for a heavy, stunning blow, often unexpected.
Seen in the wild
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Forced his family away, leaving son to die alone of wounds inflicted by IDF's military-trained dog. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
How the US treats the people who helped us www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Definitions
Scottish and northern English dialect for a heavy, stunning blow, often unexpected. Also used as a verb meaning to strike hard. Related to 'devil' in form but not meaning; the etymology is uncertain, possibly connected to Norse roots. Conveys a blow forceful enough to make one's head ring.
He walked into the low beam and gave himself such a devel that he saw stars for a full minute.
Comments
(Scotland) (a hard blow).
“www.theguardian.com/global-devel...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Forced his family away, leaving son to die alone of wounds inflicted by IDF's military-trained dog. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“www.theguardian.com/global-devel...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“How the US treats the people who helped us www.theguardian.com/global-devel...”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Other words near "devel" (D)
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Semantically related
- devvel77%
(Scotland) A hard blow.
- devvel75%
(transitive, Scotland) To hit (something) hard.
- devvel75%
(transitive, Scotland) To stun (someone) by hitting.
- develin61%
A rare dialectal English name for the common swift (Apus apus), likely derived from 'devil' due to the bird's screaming call and near-constant aerial life. Regional variants include 'devil bird' and 'deviling.' Its swift-as-the-devil associations gave it a faintly ominous folkloric character in rural English communities.