Top Definitions
Quiz
Examples

psychopomp

[ sahy-koh-pomp ]

/ ˈsaɪ koʊˌpɒmp /

Save This Word!

noun

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

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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, psychophysiological, psychophysiologic disorder, psychophysiology, psychopomp, psychoprophylaxis, psychosensory, psychosexual, psychosexual development, psychosexual dysfunction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use psychopomp in a sentence

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
Hermes himself, the Psychopomp, shall lead, and Malahide shall welcome us.
Day and Night Stories|Algernon Blackwood
The winds were now the maruts, or spirits of the breeze, serving Indra, the sky-god; again they were the great psychopomp himself.
British Goblins|Wirt Sikes
Hermes is the god whose mission it is to lead souls down to the realm of Hadesthe psychopomp, as in this office he is called.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879|Various

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