Old Nick
proper noun
Synonyms
Old Harry Old Ned Old Scratch Old Serpent Aduwallah Adversary Al-Shaytaan Antichrist archfiend Ash-Shaytan Azazel Beast Beelzebub bogey cosmocrat deceiver deuce Devil diablo Diabolus Satan Lucifer the Tempter Prince of Darkness
Etymology
Originally 17th century. Apparently a special use of the forename Nick, perhaps in jocular or contrastive reference to Saint Nicholas. Alternatively, it may be derived from nicker, or some other derivative of Old English nicor (“water demon”).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Old Nick”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details