# Why not King of Darkness **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844 "2015-10-27T04:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/1 "2015-10-27T04:14:32Z")
Since there is no one above him, in the dark realm anyway, why is Satan the Prince of Darkness and not King. Hey, it’s almost All Hallows’ Eve. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/2 "2015-10-27T04:35:18Z")
Presumably Christians believe that there is only one King over all. (Well, one or three, depending on how you look at it). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/3 "2015-10-27T05:48:39Z")
I was expecting a thread devoted to Lucas Electrics. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/4 "2015-10-27T06:23:45Z")
Snerk. Hey I’ll open the thread up to anyone who thinks they have an idea who the real King of Darkness is. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/5 "2015-10-27T06:32:47Z")
Because God can kick Satan’s ass whenever he wants. The human king of darkness is Phil Jackson or Hilary Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/6 "2015-10-27T07:00:58Z")
Princeps means “principal, main, most important”, in this context. He Da Boss of the bad guys. The Princes of Luxembourg, Monaco or Andorra aren’t under any kings either. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/7 "2015-10-27T15:24:42Z")
Prince/Princeps is a Latin word. King/Cyning/Konig is a Germanic word. Whichever term a country uses for its rulers tends to follow its general linguistic history. The idea that a prince is only a junior king is relatively recent, although that’s mostly how it works in Great Britain. In English, at least, female rulers might also be called Prince. This was fairly common in the Elizabethan era. The title meant something like First Citizen, rather than First Male Citizen. Duke/Dux is also a Latin word, for a country’s military leader. Some countries use Archduke for the ruler, with male heirs typically using a title of duke or count. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/8 "2015-10-27T15:53:50Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Because God can kick Satan’s ass whenever he wants. > > The human king of darkness is Phil Jackson or Hilary Clinton. Who is Hilary Clinton, and makes him kingworthy? ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/9 "2015-10-28T07:56:51Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I was expecting a thread devoted to Lucas Electrics. Me Too! We both know that Lucas Electrics is the true king of darkness. While I enjoy my Triumph, I do not miss the Lucas Electrics that was installed at the factory. It now has a mostly Delco system on it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/10 "2015-10-28T15:59:20Z")
Latin does have a word for king: rex (regina for queen). ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/11 "2015-10-28T16:22:46Z")
My answer is Satan is just a child of God, one who has been very very bad and will be having a very long time out session soon. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/12 "2015-10-29T14:24:01Z")
Muammar Qaddafi was a colonel. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/13 "2015-10-29T14:39:09Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Who is Hilary Clinton, and makes him kingworthy? You’re so funny. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/14 "2015-10-29T14:47:58Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Because God can kick Satan’s ass whenever he wants. God kicks plenty of _human_ ass; that’s why folks readily call Him the King of Kings. But some humans – whose asses He can kick – still get called “King”, right? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/15 "2015-10-29T15:03:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Latin does have a word for king: rex (regina for queen). Yes, and the Latin words are the basis for the French words, Roi and Reine. But the English word, King, which the OP is asking about, is from the Germanic. The Anglo Saxon term was Cyng, which is the same word with different spelling. See here for more: > **[king - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/king)** Bonus material: Earl is also an Anglo Saxon title, from the Anglo Saxon word, Eorl. Eorl would have been pronounced more like a heavily slurred whorl-all, only without the wh sound on the front. Eorl is related to Jarl, as in Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl is the Old Norse version of Eorl. It has that Y sound on the front, which is also absent from the Anglo Saxon word. The Eorls of Anglo Saxon England were major nobility, occupying a position closer to moderns Dukes. Similarly, the early Medieval Counts of France were closer to being the rulers of their own territory, rather than subordinate nobles. The English word, Count, in French, is Comte, from the Latin “comes”, meaning “companions”. Alexander the Great had an elite cavalry squad known as the Companions (in Greek, the Hetairoi), who were his personal favorites for the prowess and bravery. The title of Comte refers to this, although the French Comtes were landowners and rulers, not the King’s closest personal friends. (Not any kind of friends, in fact, usually). There was no corresponding female title to Eorl. The wife of an Eorl might be called by the Latina title, Domina, which means Lady, or the Germanic word Cwene, meaning Noble Wife or Consort. Queen is descended from the Anglo-Saxon Cwene, Cwene would have been pronounced like the modern name Gwen with an -eh sound at the end, only with a hard C instead of the hard G (the finial -e is almost always voiced in language other than modern English). In Middle English, the title Cwen was reserved for the King’s wife, which means they needed a word for female Earls, so they just used the French title, Countess, which is Count with a feminine suffix. Ok, that’s enough nerdery for one morning. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-king-of-darkness/735844/16 "2015-10-29T15:11:23Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Ok, that’s enough nerdery for one morning. Never! Fun stuff - thank you for sharing.