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dybbuk

or dib·buk

[ Sephardic Hebrew dee-book; Ashkenazic Hebrew, English dib-uhk ]
/ Sephardic Hebrew diˈbuk; Ashkenazic Hebrew, English ˈdɪb ək /
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noun, plural dyb·buks, dyb·bu·kim [Sephardic Hebrew dee-boo-keem; Ashkenazic Hebrew dih-book-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.
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for dybbuk

dybbuk
/ (ˈdɪbək, Hebrew diˈbuk) /

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
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