Cacodemon comes from Greek kakodaimon ('evil spirit'), from kakos ('bad, evil') + daimon ('spirit, divine power'). The historical trail runs through kakós in Ancient Greek and daímon in Ancient Greek. Morphologically, cacodemon is transparent: it draws on Greek kakodaimon ('evil spirit'), from kakos ('bad, evil') + daimon ('spirit, divine power'). Used as a noun, cacodemon now means "an evil spirit or malevolent demon", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as demon. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.