dibbuk

[Sephardic Hebrew dee-book; Ashkenazic Hebrew dib-uh k]

noun, plural dib·buks, dib·buk·im [Sephardic Hebrew dee-boo-keem; Ashkenazic Hebrew dih-boo k-im] /Sephardic Hebrew di buˈkim; Ashkenazic Hebrew dɪˈbʊk ɪm/. Jewish Folklore.

dybbuk

or dib·buk

[Sephardic Hebrew dee-book; Ashkenazic Hebrew, English dib-uh k]

noun, plural dyb·buks, dyb·bu·kim [Sephardic Hebrew dee-boo-keem; Ashkenazic Hebrew dih-boo k-im] /Sephardic Hebrew ˌdi buˈkim; Ashkenazic Hebrew dɪˈbʊk ɪm/. Jewish Folklore.

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.

Origin of dybbuk

1900–05; < Yiddish dibek < Hebrew dibbūq, derivative of dābhaq cleave (to); spelling dybbuk is a Pol transliteration of the Heb word

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for dibbuk

dibbuk

noun plural -buks or -bukkim (Hebrew -buˈkim)

a variant spelling of dybbuk

dybbuk

noun plural -buks or -bukkim (Hebrew -buˈkim)

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

Word Origin for dybbuk

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

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

Word Origin and History for dibbuk

dybbuk

"malevolent spirit of a dead person possessing the body of a living one," 1903, from Jewish folklore, from Hebrew dibbuk, from dabak "to cling, cleave to."