Devil or Demon: Is there a difference?

While sweating over a hot stove, a peculiar thought came to me (and when that happens that means it' could be relevant): Is there a difference between a devil and a demon? What makes them different and what do they have in common? Is one of a more negatice influence than the other? It's definitely something I should ponder in any case. What about you all? Are they the same or is there something vastly different about them?

Quite honestly, and this is probably just me, but I consider a demon to be just that—a demon—but I consider devils to be demons that are generally malicious. It's kinda like the whole rectangle-to-square relation for me in the sense of a devil is a demon but a demon is not necessarily a devil, ya know?

However, I'm not sure if there is an actual difference between the two, or if the names are just generally interchangable. But like I said, that's how I classify the two. I'm not sure if it's correct, but it's how I do it! x3

~Melari

I liked how you describe your view, Melari (and I just had a flashback to ninth grade algebra XD). I've heard people and read books that switch devil and demon around. Something just told me there's a slight difference between the two. That's why I end up using culture-specific terms like Yokai. Yokai aren't necessarily evil, even Tengu aren't inherently bad. But they are dangerous . I've been looking up each culture's version of the word "demon". Some even switch between "ghost" and "demon". It just gets more and more complex....

Devil is pretty complicated too. I can't help to think about the Major Arcana card, with that dense, heavy energy. But is it immoral or evil? I can't say myself, at least not now