dybbuk

Or dib·buk

[dee-book, dib-uhk]

noun

Jewish Folklore.

plural

dybbuks, dybbukim 

1. a demon, or the soul of a dead person, that enters the body of a living person and directs the person's conduct, exorcism being possible only by a religious ceremony.

dybbuk

/ diˈbuk, ˈdɪbək /

noun

1. Judaism (in the folklore of the cabala) the soul of a dead sinner that has transmigrated into the body of a living person

Word History and Origins

Origin of dybbuk¹

First recorded in 1900–05; from Yiddish dibek, from Hebrew dibbūq, derivative of dābhaq “cleave (to)”; spelling dybbuk is a Polish transliteration of the Hebrew word

Word History and Origins

Origin of dybbuk¹

from Yiddish dibbūk devil, from Hebrew dibbūq; related to dābhaq to hang on, cling

Example Sentences

That’s when she finds out her new girlfriend may be possessed by a dybbuk.

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“She is dealing with the death of her father and her mother’s depression — and then there’s a wandering spirit or dybbuk that is ornery and disruptive,” said Higuera.

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Perhaps the lantern light I had glimpsed in these windows the night Raizel and I met to go to the Whitechapel Club hadn’t just been a product of the dybbuk.

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Parents must work together to save their young daughter from a dybbuk, a malevolent spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.

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He is a dybbuk, who rather than being ashamed, guilty or motivated to help our pockmarked nation evolve, looks at the world without hope or imagination.

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Related Words

• fiend 
• malignant spirit www.thesaurus.com
• monster 
• vampire 
• villain