This article focuses on the links between the semantic field of deceit and the semantic area of magic and demonology as revealed within the inner form of language units, and the logic of the development of their meanings. The spaces of etymologic-formative families to which these two semantic fields belong are also considered. The links found manifest the folk conception of deceit, according to which the deceiver is perceived as superhuman in nature. The materials for the work are tokens and collocations of the Russian nation-wide language and dialects. The words with the meaning of deceit motivated by designations for wizards, sorcerers, magic acts, and evil forces, are analysed in terms of their semantics and motivation. The main models of semantic development of the units considered are revealed. Among them are the schemes “sorcerer / evil pirit” → “deceiver”, “to practise sorcery / to act as evil forces” → “to deceive”. Possible motivational solutions for some lexical and phraseological units are given, for example, besomyzhnichat ‘to deceive’ (Pskov region), veryovochnyi chort ‘deceiver’ (Pskov region). A number of reasons for the active participation of chort and bes (or “devil”) in the formation of units with the meaning of deceit are suggested.