Variant of devilry; wicked or mischievous behavior, especially when playfully or daring in nature.
Variant spelling of 'devilry' using the -try suffix instead of -ry. Both forms developed naturally in Middle English as scribes and speakers experimented with word endings.
Medieval scribes had no standardized spelling, so words like 'devilry' and 'deviltry' coexisted—eventually printers standardized 'devilry,' but 'deviltry' survives in older texts and literary works, a window into pre-modern language fluidity.
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