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gilgul

[Sephardic Hebrew geel-gool; Ashkenazic Hebrew gil-goo l]
noun, plural gil·gu·lim [Sephardic Hebrew geel-goo-leem; Ashkenazic Hebrew gil-goo-lim] /Sephardic Hebrew gil guˈlim; Ashkenazic Hebrew gɪlˈgu lɪm/. Jewish Folklore.
  1. the soul of a dead person that passes into another living body to assume a new existence and atone for past sins.
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Compare dybbuk.

Origin of gilgul

< Yiddish gilgl literally, transmigration, metamorphosis < Hebrew gilgul metamorphosis, literally, rolling, revolving
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018