A principal or supreme demon, often depicted as one of the most powerful evil spirits in religious or fictional hierarchies.
From Greek 'archi-' (chief, principal) combined with 'demon' (evil spirit). The prefix 'arch-' was used in medieval theology to denote the highest-ranking supernatural beings, following the model of 'archangel.' This construction became popular in religious and fantasy literature.
The term reflects how languages mirror organizational hierarchies—just as we have 'archbishop' and 'archduke,' medieval writers created 'archdemon' to show that even evil has its corporate ladder. It's a window into how people thought about power structures in both heaven and hell.
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