In the manner or way of a devil; wickedly, mischievously, or with devilish cunning.
Compound of devil and -wise (from Old English '-wīse,' meaning 'manner' or 'way'). The -wise suffix creates adverbs indicating how something is done, as in 'likewise' or 'clockwise.'
The suffix '-wise' (as in 'likewise,' 'clockwise,' 'lengthwise') comes from an Old English word meaning 'manner,' and speakers could freely add it to nouns—'devilwise' was creative, but only 'likewise' survived regularly into modern English.
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