lemures

American  

[lem-yuh-reez, lem-oo-res] / ˈlɛm yəˌriz, ˈlɛm ʊˌrɛs /

plural noun

Roman Religion.

1. ghosts, especially those of a family’s dead, considered troublesome unless exorcised or appeased, as during the annual festival of Lemuralia.

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lemures British  

/ ˈlɛmjʊˌriːz /

plural noun

1. Roman myth the spirits of the dead

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Etymology

Origin of lemures

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin; see origin at lemur

Example Sentences

Morton tells us about Egyptian soul essences — the ka, ba, and akh — and ancient Rome’s demonic lemures and the Icelandic draugar, who were powerful, reanimated corpses.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2015

That was no superhuman voice—no yell of nightly lemures, but the death-cry, if I err not more widely, of some frail mortal like ourselves.

From The Roman Traitor, Vol. 1 by Herbert, Henry William

The ghosts, or specters of the dead that came back to haunt and terrify the living were called lemures.

From Romulus Makers of History by Abbott, Jacob

Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, sagas, Nocturnos lemures, portentaque Thessala rides?

From Essays and Tales by Morley, Henry

I had read of banshees, lemures and leprechauns; they were the ghosts and the fairies of ignorance but they were not like this.

From The Blind Spot by Hall, Austin