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

Some have imagined that these skeletons were intended to represent the larvæ and lemures, the good and evil shadows of the dead, that occasionally made their appearance on earth.

From The Dance of Death Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein by Douce, Francis

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

And if this be only Trophonius's pit, the lemures, hobthrushes, and goblins will certainly swallow us alive, just as they devoured formerly one of Demetrius's halberdiers for want of bridles.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 5 by Motteux, Peter Anthony