INCUBUS

incubus

(noun) a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women

incubus

(noun) someone who depresses or worries others

nightmare, incubus

(noun) a situation resembling a terrifying dream

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

incubus (plural incubi or incubuses)

(mediaeval folklore) An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.

Antonym: succubus

Hypernyms: evil spirit, spirit

A feeling of oppression during sleep, sleep paralysis; night terrors, a nightmare.

Synonym: nightmare

(by extension) Any oppressive thing or person; a burden.

(entomology) One of various of parasitic insects, especially subfamily Aphidiinae.

Source: Wiktionary


In"cu*bus, n.; pl. E. Incubuses, L. Incubi. Etym: [L., the nightmare. Cf. Incubate.]

1. A demon; a fiend; a lascivious spirit, supposed to have sexual intercourse with women by night. Tylor. The devils who appeared in the female form were generally called succubi; those who appeared like men incubi, though this distinction was not always preserved. Lecky.

2. (Med.)

Definition: The nightmare. See Nightmare. Such as are troubled with incubus, or witch-ridden, as we call it. Burton.

3. Any oppressive encumbrance or burden; anything that prevents the free use of the faculties. Debt and usury is the incubus which weighs most heavily on the agricultural resources of Turkey. J. L. Farley.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

30 May 2025

FOREHAND

(noun) (sports) a return made with the palm of the hand facing the direction of the stroke (as in tennis or badminton or squash)


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