Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Ahura Mazda's adversary, the chief spirit of darkness and evil in Zoroastrianism.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The Evil Principle or Being of the ancient Persians; the Prince of Darkness as opposer to Ormuzd, the King of Light.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The hypostasis of chaos, destruction, evil in Zoroastrianism.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the spirit of evil in Zoroastrianism; arch rival of Ormazd

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Persian ahriman, from Middle Persian ahraman, from Avestan angrō mainiiuš, the evil spirit : angra-, evil + mainiiuš, spirit; see men- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Persian اهریمن (Ahriman), from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (Ahreman), from Avestan 𐬀𐬢𐬰𐬀 (aŋra, "destruction, destructive") and mainyu ("spirit, mind, essence, emanation etc."). Definable through the antithetical spenta mainyu ("bounteous spirit").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Ahriman.

Examples

  • Tempted by Ahriman, the first man and woman had fallen; and for twelve thousand years there was to be war between _Ormuzd_ and the Good Spirits created by him, and _Ahriman_ and the Evil ones whom he had called into existence.

    Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Albert Pike 1850

  • I forbore to mention that the reason I knew the name Ahriman was because of a classic Conan The Barbarian story...

    Dinner at Kellogg College jinty 2006

  • The name Ahriman, however, does not actually occur in this Yasna.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913

  • According to the Sadder Bun-Dehesch, a more modern work, Ahriman is to be annihilated: but this is contrary to the text itself of the

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206

  • "It's the Hebrew word for Adversary," said Etheriel impatiently. 1 could say Ahriman, which is the Persian word.

    The Complete Stories Vol 1 Asimov, Isaac 1990

  • For, to say nothing of the apparently independent existence of the principle of darkness and evil called Ahriman, the relation of the

    Pantheism, Its Story and Significance Religions Ancient and Modern J. Allanson Picton 1871

  • Opposing him was Ahriman, a powerful spirit bent on evil and leading humans astray.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

  • The great Persian religious teacher Zoroaster, who lived centuries before Alexander, taught that all must choose whom they would follow, but that at the end of time Ahriman would be defeated by the Wise Lord.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

  • Opposing him was Ahriman, a powerful spirit bent on evil and leading humans astray.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

  • The great Persian religious teacher Zoroaster, who lived centuries before Alexander, taught that all must choose whom they would follow, but that at the end of time Ahriman would be defeated by the Wise Lord.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.