English Dictionary - With Multi-Lingual Search

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Etymology
In the sense of the USA, a calque of Persian شيطان بزرگ (Shaytan Bozorg), a name for the largest of the three jamarat at which stones are thrown during the Hajj.
Proper noun

great|Great Satan

1. A source of great evil.

#*1948: w:Mahatma Ghandi|Mahatma Ghandi, Council Bluffs Nonpareil
#*:Imperialism is the great Satan of our day.

1. pejorative The United States of America, usu. from the point of view of Iran, the Middle East, or Muslims in general.

#*2007: Alexander Cockburn, Will they nuke Iran?, The Free Press ¹
#*:Ahmadinejad, facing serious political problems, can posture about standing up to the Great Satan.
#*2007: Swapan Dasgupta, Muslims aren't the only voters, The Pioneer ²
#*:Or, have Muslims been alienated from the Congress because of the Prime Minister's warm embrace of the Great Satan?
Translations

German: Großer Satan
mid
Persian: شيطان بزرگ (Shaytan Bozorg)

Category:English proper nouns
Category:Countries

• 2007-07-24 08:03 - Oraculum - quote

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