psychopomp

[ sahy-koh-pomp ]
/ ˈsaɪ koʊˌpɒmp /

noun

a person who conducts spirits or souls to the other world, as Hermes or Charon.

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Origin of psychopomp

First recorded in 1860–65, psychopomp is from the Greek word psȳchopompós conductor of souls. See psycho-, pomp

Words nearby psychopomp

psychophysical parallelism, psychophysics, psychophysiologic disorder, psychophysiological, psychophysiology, psychopomp, psychoprophylaxis, psychosensory, psychosexual, psychosexual development, psychosexual dysfunction
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for psychopomp

  • Hermes himself, the Psychopomp, shall lead, and Malahide shall welcome us.

    Day and Night Stories|Algernon Blackwood

  • As the souls of the departed are symbolized as rats, so is the psychopomp himself often figured as a dog.

    Myths and Myth-Makers|John Fiske

  • The rle of general conductor of souls to the realms of the underworld, however, came to be given to Hermes, the psychopomp.

    Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt