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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
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5 January 2025
PTEROSAUR
(noun) an extinct reptile of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having a bird-like beak and membranous wings supported by the very long fourth digit of each forelimb
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