archfiend

A chief fiend. "Whom thus answer'd the arch - Aend..." Milton: P. R. , bk. L arch-flamen, s. [From Lat. Namen or filamen , a priest of one particular deity; filum =a thread or fillet the latter worn by flamens.] A chief flamen; that is, a chief priest of any particular deity. "In le er figures are represented the Satrapæ or Persian nobility, who with their arms stand on one side of those majestick figures; and on the other, the magi or arch-flamens, some of which hold lamps, others censers or perfuming-pots, in their hands. Sir T. Herbert: Trav ., p. 143. "The Roman Gentiles had their altars and sacrifices, their arch - lamens and vestal nuns." Howell: Lett ., ii. 11.