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dybbuk

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

noun

Jewish Folklore.
dybbuks, plural dybbukim plural
  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

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.

“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.

From Washington Post • Dec. 7, 2022

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

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2019

Polish director Marcin Wrona, who wrote the movie with Pawel Maslona, has thoroughly reconceptualized the mythology of the dybbuk for 21st-century Eastern Europe.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 13, 2016

The Polish director Marcin Wrona, who wrote the movie with Pawel Maslona, has thoroughly reconceptualized the mythology of the dybbuk for 21st-century Eastern Europe.

From New York Times • Sep. 8, 2016

Yakov’s dybbuk was gone, and I was free.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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