It's no secret:
<satan> comes from Hebrew s'a:t.a:n 'adversary, accuser', borrowed into New Testament Greek and thence into the Latin of the Vulgate (<sata:n>).
<lu:ci-fer> is Latin for 'light-bearing' (hence 'the morning star'), translating Gk. pHo:spHoros. It came to be associated with the fallen angel apparently on the basis of Isaiah 14: "[12] How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!", etc.
<devil> is from Old English de:ofol, borrowed from Lat. diabolus, itself from Gk. dia-bolos, a noun derived from the verb dia-ballo: 'throw across' (figuratively > 'slander, traduce'), a loan-translation of <s'a:t.a:n>.
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gerry" <waluk@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 8:39 PM
Subject: [tied] Lucifer
> Does anyone know the etymology for the term "satan" or devil or
> Lucifer?