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Origin of the word "Devil" in Devil Stick
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NielsDuinker
Nov 21, 2011, 3:50:43 PM11/21/11
to
Hello fellow jugglers,
Today I have been reading Todd Strong's book "The Devilstick Book". There
is an interesting chapter in the book about the history of the devil
stick. For many years it has been a mystery to me personally why this
juggling prop is related to "devil".
According to the book the Devil Stick has it origin in China. Around 1800
when European colonists tried to start trading with China, they sent all
kinds of Chinese attributes and pieces of Chinese culture back to Europe.
In China the Devil Stick has been known under the name "Hua Kun" - which
means flower stick.
The Europeans traders looked at themselves as educated people. And
well-educated people in those days spoke Greek; so the original Chinese
names got replaced by Greek names.
When you look at the origional Chinese bamboo diabolo and the devil stick
you can see that both props are pretty similar. It's both a middle stick
that is been manipulated by 2 hand sticks.
The original Chinese diabolo (Kouen gen) was from now on called
"diabollo".
"Dia" means cross and "Ballo" means throwing in Greek.
Now comes the interested part. The word "diabollo" also means to slander
or to traduce in Greek. If you read Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse One in the
bible Jezus is tempted by evil spirits (diabolos) / the devil.
From the original Chinese flower stick, through the Greek language
(the-toss
-across-stick). The term Devil Stick got introduced into the English
language through incorrect translation.
I hope that this explanation is interesting to you. It sure was
interesting to me to read Todd Strong's book.
Sincerely,
Niels Duinker (from Holland)
www.juggler.eu / www.NielsDuinker.com
--
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
Today I have been reading Todd Strong's book "The Devilstick Book". There
is an interesting chapter in the book about the history of the devil
stick. For many years it has been a mystery to me personally why this
juggling prop is related to "devil".
According to the book the Devil Stick has it origin in China. Around 1800
when European colonists tried to start trading with China, they sent all
kinds of Chinese attributes and pieces of Chinese culture back to Europe.
In China the Devil Stick has been known under the name "Hua Kun" - which
means flower stick.
The Europeans traders looked at themselves as educated people. And
well-educated people in those days spoke Greek; so the original Chinese
names got replaced by Greek names.
When you look at the origional Chinese bamboo diabolo and the devil stick
you can see that both props are pretty similar. It's both a middle stick
that is been manipulated by 2 hand sticks.
The original Chinese diabolo (Kouen gen) was from now on called
"diabollo".
"Dia" means cross and "Ballo" means throwing in Greek.
Now comes the interested part. The word "diabollo" also means to slander
or to traduce in Greek. If you read Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse One in the
bible Jezus is tempted by evil spirits (diabolos) / the devil.
From the original Chinese flower stick, through the Greek language
(the-toss
-across-stick). The term Devil Stick got introduced into the English
language through incorrect translation.
I hope that this explanation is interesting to you. It sure was
interesting to me to read Todd Strong's book.
Sincerely,
Niels Duinker (from Holland)
www.juggler.eu / www.NielsDuinker.com
--
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
Jay Linn
Nov 21, 2011, 4:27:23 PM11/21/11
to
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:50:43 -0000, NielsDuinker
<ni...@nielsduinker.com.nospam.com> wrote:
> Hello fellow jugglers,
>
> Today I have been reading Todd Strong's book "The Devilstick Book". There
> is an interesting chapter in the book about the history of the devil
> stick. For many years it has been a mystery to me personally why this
> juggling prop is related to "devil".
>
> According to the book the Devil Stick has it origin in China. Around 1800
> when European colonists tried to start trading with China, they sent all
> kinds of Chinese attributes and pieces of Chinese culture back to Europe.
> In China the Devil Stick has been known under the name "Hua Kun" - which
> means flower stick.
>
> The Europeans traders looked at themselves as educated people. And
> well-educated people in those days spoke Greek; so the original Chinese
> names got replaced by Greek names.
>
> When you look at the origional Chinese bamboo diabolo and the devil stick
> you can see that both props are pretty similar. It's both a middle stick
> that is been manipulated by 2 hand sticks.
I suspect that 'devil stick' is descriptive of something comparatively
<ni...@nielsduinker.com.nospam.com> wrote:
> Hello fellow jugglers,
>
> Today I have been reading Todd Strong's book "The Devilstick Book". There
> is an interesting chapter in the book about the history of the devil
> stick. For many years it has been a mystery to me personally why this
> juggling prop is related to "devil".
>
> According to the book the Devil Stick has it origin in China. Around 1800
> when European colonists tried to start trading with China, they sent all
> kinds of Chinese attributes and pieces of Chinese culture back to Europe.
> In China the Devil Stick has been known under the name "Hua Kun" - which
> means flower stick.
>
> The Europeans traders looked at themselves as educated people. And
> well-educated people in those days spoke Greek; so the original Chinese
> names got replaced by Greek names.
>
> When you look at the origional Chinese bamboo diabolo and the devil stick
> you can see that both props are pretty similar. It's both a middle stick
> that is been manipulated by 2 hand sticks.
difficult to perform. In this sense 'devil' is simply an archaic bit of
English referring to something difficult or tricky, and is not intended to
identify directly with the devil, Lucifer, Satan or other diabolical
entities. Consequently 'devil stick' is merely a slightly fancy way of
describing the thing itself.
> The original Chinese diabolo (Kouen gen) was from now on called
> "diabollo".
> "Dia" means cross and "Ballo" means throwing in Greek.
>
> Now comes the interested part. The word "diabollo" also means to slander
> or to traduce in Greek. If you read Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse One in the
> bible Jezus is tempted by evil spirits (diabolos) / the devil.
have, not surprisingly, been around in the West for a very long time, and
in the East for much longer still. In English very simple diaboloes
consisting of a wooden spool or bobbin resting on a string tied to
handsticks were known as 'devil on two sticks' (there's that usage of
'devil' again, meaning something tricky). It was not until 1906 that
Gustave Phillipart began to successfully revive the toy we are familiar
with today, and it is believed that he coined the word 'diabolo' at that
time, from the Greek dia-(across) bolo(throw). The famous polymath and
England cricket captain C.B. Fry[2] is supposed to have suggested making
the revived item from celluloid instead of more traditional wood or metal.
Disclaimer : I've written this in good faith, but history is a fickle
mistress and I don't know everything, so please exercise a degree of
scepticism and let us know if you think otherwise, or come across
contradictory evidence.
[1] I'm reading from my 1955 edition. I don't know if Britannica have
revised their opinion since.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_B_Fry ffi. Which just goes to show that
even Croydon has something we can be grateful for.
--
Jay Linn
http://www.reddit.com/r/juggling - like rec.juggling but slower and with
extra porn and graphical smilies. What's not to like?
The Void
Nov 21, 2011, 5:42:53 PM11/21/11
to
at least 1840.
http://www.museediabolo.fr/ - A great little history site.
The Void
................
Talking out of the side of his mouth
--
TLMB tees & hoodies: www.tlmb.net/tees : 21 designs
Scott Seltzer
Nov 22, 2011, 2:17:14 AM11/22/11
to
NielsDuinker wrote:
> When you look at the origional Chinese bamboo diabolo and the devil stick
> you can see that both props are pretty similar. It's both a middle stick
> that is been manipulated by 2 hand sticks.
Interesting stuff, Niels (and other follow-upppers). I just wanted to
> When you look at the origional Chinese bamboo diabolo and the devil stick
> you can see that both props are pretty similar. It's both a middle stick
> that is been manipulated by 2 hand sticks.
point out in Niels' paragraph that I have above that the middle stick in
both cases is hourglass shaped. The devilstick is one extreme with the
middle being only slightly narrower than the ends. Diabolos[1] are much
steeper in their shape [2].
-Scott
1. What is the proper plural - diabolos or diaboloes (as per Jay in this
thread)?
2. The Radical Fish diabolo was the most extreme example I know of. See
http://www.diabolotricks.com/wii-RadicalFish.html
Little Paul
Nov 22, 2011, 5:34:15 AM11/22/11
to
On 2011-11-21, Jay Linn <ad...@in.my.heade.rs> wrote:
>
> According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica[1] the diabolo and similar toys
> have, not surprisingly, been around in the West for a very long time, and
> in the East for much longer still. In English very simple diaboloes
> consisting of a wooden spool or bobbin resting on a string tied to
> handsticks were known as 'devil on two sticks' (there's that usage of
> 'devil' again, meaning something tricky). It was not until 1906 that
> Gustave Phillipart began to successfully revive the toy we are familiar
> with today, and it is believed that he coined the word 'diabolo' at that
> time, from the Greek dia-(across) bolo(throw). The famous polymath and
> England cricket captain C.B. Fry[2] is supposed to have suggested making
> the revived item from celluloid instead of more traditional wood or metal.
The OED agrees with Britannica:
>
> According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica[1] the diabolo and similar toys
> have, not surprisingly, been around in the West for a very long time, and
> in the East for much longer still. In English very simple diaboloes
> consisting of a wooden spool or bobbin resting on a string tied to
> handsticks were known as 'devil on two sticks' (there's that usage of
> 'devil' again, meaning something tricky). It was not until 1906 that
> Gustave Phillipart began to successfully revive the toy we are familiar
> with today, and it is believed that he coined the word 'diabolo' at that
> time, from the Greek dia-(across) bolo(throw). The famous polymath and
> England cricket captain C.B. Fry[2] is supposed to have suggested making
> the revived item from celluloid instead of more traditional wood or metal.
diabolo, n.
Pronunciation: /diː-/ /daɪˈæbələʊ/
Etymology: Italian, = devil.
The game of the devil-on-two-sticks revived under this name. Also, the
wooden top with which the game is played. The game consists in balancing
and spinning a double-headed top on a string (which is supported on two
sticks), throwing it into the air, and catching it again.
1907 C.B. Fry's Mag. Mar. 582 The Devil Game: Diabolo.
1907 C.B. Fry's Mag. Mar. 586/2 It is not difficult to learn to spin the diabolo.
1907 C.B. Fry's Mag. Mar. 587/2 The diabolo game can be played by sides of almost any number.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 25 Sept. 12/1 The inventor of the modern Diabolo is M. Gustave Phillipart, a French engineer, well known in the automobile world.
1922 C. E. M. Joad Highbrows iv. 135 They invent some quaint form of amusement like diabolo or roller-skating.
1964 W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools 196 The curiously small, diabolo-shaped mallet.
> [1] I'm reading from my 1955 edition. I don't know if Britannica have
> revised their opinion since.
and may have merged the entry with the one for "top (toy)" - but I'd have
to sign up for an account to check, and I'm not interested enough to do
that!
-Paul
--
http://paulseward.com
david
Nov 22, 2011, 6:58:23 AM11/22/11
to
an axle. I have a plastic one from the '80s. There is a picture and more
history at http://www.diabolotricks.com/whatisit.html and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_yo-yo
david
Thomas Lins
Nov 22, 2011, 7:01:43 AM11/22/11
to
The Void wrote:
> According to Le Petit Musée du diable, the term "le diable" dates back to
> at least 1840.
> http://www.museediabolo.fr/ - A great little history site.
I'm not sure what to believe.
> According to Le Petit Musée du diable, the term "le diable" dates back to
> at least 1840.
> http://www.museediabolo.fr/ - A great little history site.
According to that same site, Charles Fry was the first to call it
"diabolo" in 1906, from Greek word "diabállô" (to throw across). But that
site also says it was previously known as a "diable" (which is the French
word for devil) because of the noise it made when spinning at that time.
So finally the devil seems to have something to do with it.
Scott Seltzer
Nov 22, 2011, 7:36:56 AM11/22/11
to
I also remembered the classic hourglass shape of the sort of diabolo that
Noelle Franco uses (at the bottom of
http://www.juggle.org/history/archives/jugmags/45-1/45-1,p26.htm). I
forgot the brand name, but they are very large and visual and I've seen
several variety and circus performers who use them.
-Scott
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