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dybbuk

American  
[dee-book, dib-uhk] / diˈbuk, ˈdɪb ək /
Or dibbuk

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 British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dybbuk

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

Vocabulary lists containing dybbuk

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the Neighborhood has already done this season The Dybbuk, perhaps the most unusual, artistic and popular piece of the year, its laurels have an imperial amplitude.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was characteristic of the Lewisohn sisters that in 1927, after the success of The Dybbuk, they closed their theatre, announced that they "must pause and consider further developments."

From Time Magazine Archive

Staged by Ballets of Two Worlds, the company recently formed by Ross and his wife, Ballerina Nora Kaye, Dybbuk proved to be a three-act excursion into cabalistic legend.

From Time Magazine Archive

This is the secluded organization that this season astonished and stirred the population with The Dybbuk.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Dybbuk of Russian Playwright S. Ansky has been an international stage classic for 30 years.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.