The word devil, derived from the Greek diabolos (the one who divides, who slanders), does not have a stabilized grammatical feminine form in contemporary French. Reference dictionaries record the pair demon/demoness, but there is no standardized feminine form for devil. The term she-devil exists, but it has never acquired the status of a true feminine counterpart in common usage: it is perceived as archaic or colloquial.
This lexical absence has not prevented the Christian tradition from constructing, century after century, a feminine figure of evil with very precise contours. Understanding how this figure has formed requires unraveling three distinct threads: grammar, theology, and medieval demonology.
Related reading : Discover the stages of candle combustion and its amazing chemical process
She-devil, demoness, succubus: three words for a lexical void
French has several terms to evoke a female evil entity, but none functions as a symmetrical feminine of devil. The difference with the pair demon/demoness is telling: demoness appears in the Usito dictionary of the University of Sherbrooke as an attested feminine form, while she-devil belongs more to the popular or literary register.
Exploring the feminine of devil on Familles Connectées, we find that this linguistic question largely transcends grammar to touch upon the representation of evil in Western culture.
You may also like : Immersion in the Heart of France's Largest Private Estate and Its Secrets
The third term, succubus, occupies a distinct place. The medieval Christian tradition constructed an explicitly gendered pair to represent the sexual dimension of the demon: the incubus (masculine, who unites with women) and the succubus (feminine, who unites with men). This incubus/succubus pair effectively plays the role of masculine/feminine of the devil in a sexual context, without going through a grammatical feminine of the word devil itself.
- She-devil: literary and colloquial usage, no standardized lexicographical status as feminine of devil
- Demoness: attested feminine of demon in contemporary dictionaries, but demon and devil are not synonymous in theology
- Succubus: feminine figure of the sexual demon in medieval demonology, with no grammatical link to the word devil
Eve and the diaboli ianua: theological genesis of the diabolical woman
The association between woman and the devil in Christian tradition does not rest on a feminine of the word, but on a theological reading of Genesis. Tertullian, one of the first major Christian authors in Latin, referred to every woman as diaboli ianua (door of the devil) in his treatise on women’s adornment.
This formula laid the foundations for a lasting identification. Drawing on the narrative of the fall, patristic tradition constructed the idea that Eve, by yielding to the serpent’s temptation, had opened a breach through which evil entered creation. The woman became not the devil, but his preferred instrument.
The theological operation is precise: evil is not attributed to a female devil but to feminine nature itself. As historians Bertrand Lançon and Adeline Gargam point out in their History of Misogyny, this identification served as an alibi to “ontologize” evil in women. The figure of Eve then functions as a permanent archetype, independent of any individual action.
Lust and feminine nature in medieval theology
The sexual dimension of this diabolization deserves attention. Medieval theology gradually shifted the center of gravity of original sin towards female sexuality. The lust attributed to women became an ontological source of evil, a recurring argument in demonology treatises.
This shift explains why the incubus/succubus pair gained such importance in theological literature. The succubus, a demon taking a seductive feminine form to corrupt men, crystallized the conviction that female seduction was the devil’s weapon.
Witches and the sabbatic goat: the feminine of the devil in court
The witch hunts represent the moment when this theological construction produced its most concrete effects. The figure of the witch constitutes, in fact, the operational version of the “feminine of the devil”: a woman accused of having made a carnal pact with Satan.
The Malleus Maleficarum (the Hammer of Witches), published at the end of the 15th century, systematizes this association. Inquisitors develop the argument that women are more likely to succumb to demonic seductions due to their nature, inherited from Eve. The symbol of the sabbatic goat, an animal figure of the devil during the sabbats, reinforces the sexual nature of the accusation.
The practices and rituals described in witch trials paint a coherent portrait. The witch is not presented as an autonomous female devil but as a servant of the devil, bound to him by a pact that inverts Christian sacraments. This subordination is revealing: even in its most radical version, Western tradition has never produced a true female devil with its own power.
Lilith and parallel traditions: a counter-model to the Christian feminine of the devil
The Jewish tradition offers a counterpoint with the figure of Lilith, often cited as Adam’s first wife in certain rabbinical interpretations. Lilith refuses submission, leaves the Garden of Eden, and becomes an autonomous demonic entity. Her figure differs radically from that of Eve: where Eve is passive (she yields to temptation), Lilith is active (she chooses transgression).
This distinction has consequences for the question of the feminine of the devil. Lilith is closer to a fully-fledged female demon than to a demonized woman. Her legacy in contemporary Satanism and in feminist reinterpretations confirms this reading: she functions as an inverted symbol of emancipation, a figure of evil that draws its power from its rejection of hierarchy.
- Eve: figure of the fall through weakness, instrument of the devil in Christian theology
- Lilith: figure of rebellion, autonomous female demon in Jewish tradition
- The succubus: female sexual entity, without its own personality, tool of corruption in demonology
The feminine of devil does not exist as a word, but as a multi-layered cultural construction. The French language has resisted the creation of a symmetrical term, while theology, demonology, and inquisitorial law have multiplied the feminine figures of evil. The grammatical void coexists with a symbolic abundance, and it is precisely this gap that makes the question richer than a mere lexical curiosity.