incubus en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈɪn.kjə.bəs/ (Australia, Canada, General-American, UK)
- audio Queensland
- /ˈɪŋ.kjʊ.bəs/ (Australia, Canada, General-American, UK)
Etymology
From Late Latin incubus, from Latin incubō (“nightmare, one who lies down on the sleeper”), from incubō (“to lie upon, to hatch”, from in- (“on”) + cubō (“to lie down”)).
Meanings
- (qualifier:mediaeval folklore) An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.
-
A feeling of oppression during sleep, sleep paralysis; night terrors, a nightmare.
it increaseth fearful dreams, incubus, night-walking, crying out, and much unquietness […] .
Burton with W.H. Gass, The Anatomy of Melancholy, NYRB Classics ser. (New York: New York Review Books, 2001, orig. 1932), vol. 1, p. 249
-
(broadly) Any oppressive thing or person; a burden.
Again he felt the impulse of flight: but his body was a dry dead incubus that refused to obey his volition.
August 1935, Clark Ashton Smith, Weird Tales, "The Treader of the Dust"Notions of civic virtue were at that moment changing, in ways which would make of Louis's alleged vices an incubus on the back of the monarchy.
2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, pages 132–3:Ahead of us the lowering smoke-screen of Leeds and her gloomy satellites hung like an incubus over the land.
1949 March and April, F. G. Roe, “I Saw Three Englands–2”, in Railway Magazine, page 82:
- One of various of parasitic insects, especially subfamily Aphidiinae.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| incubuses | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| incubi | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Hypernyms
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (83)
ca íncub (an evil spirit) · ru дурно́й сон (a nightmare) · fr vampire (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · fr cauchemar (a nightmare) · ko 몽마 (an evil spirit) · fr incube (an evil spirit) · sux 𒋼𒇲 (an evil spirit) · ru груз забо́т (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ro incub (an evil spirit) · ru злой дух (an evil spirit) · sux 𒀀𒇲 (an evil spirit) · ja 重荷 (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · fr tyran (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · es cruz (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · fa درفنجک (an evil spirit) · ru де́мон (an evil spirit) · hu inkubusz (an evil spirit) · nl juk (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ar كابوس (a nightmare) · sux 𒀉𒉺 (an evil spirit) · ru кошма́р (a nightmare) · fr fardeau (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · bg инку́бус (an evil spirit) · de Last (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · la incubus (a nightmare) · mr इंक्युबस (an evil spirit) · ja 夢魔 (an evil spirit) · fr terreurs nocturnes (a nightmare) · pt pesadelo (a nightmare) · fa بختک (an evil spirit) · pl inkub (an evil spirit) · fr incube (a nightmare) · de Inkubus (an evil spirit) · ja 悪夢 (a nightmare) · hu lidércnyomás (a nightmare) · es pesadilla (a nightmare) · fr sangsue (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ru бре́мя (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · eu inkubo (an evil spirit) · pt íncubo (an evil spirit) · sv incubus (an evil spirit) · cmn 夢魘 /梦魇 (a nightmare) · eo inkubo (an evil spirit) · la incubus (an evil spirit) · ru злой ге́ний (an evil spirit) · nl incubus (an evil spirit) · ru инку́б (an evil spirit) · es íncubo (an evil spirit) · pt íncubo (a nightmare) · ru гнёт (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · bg кошмар (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ar كَابُوس (an evil spirit) · de Kreuz (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · de Albtraum (a nightmare) · hu lidérc (an evil spirit) · ja インキュバス (an evil spirit) · bg инку́б (an evil spirit) · ar جَاثُوم (an evil spirit) · bg кошмар (a nightmare) · sux 𒌜 (an evil spirit) · fr boulet (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · nl obsessie (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ca íncub (a nightmare) · pl koszmar (a nightmare) · nl nachtmerrie (a nightmare) · nl last (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · es carga (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ca íncube (a nightmare) · ca íncube (an evil spirit) · fi miespuolinen demoni (an evil spirit) · tr karabasan (an evil spirit) · lt inkubai (an evil spirit) · cs incubus (an evil spirit) · fr croix (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · ar باروك (oppressive thing or person; a burden) · fa کابوس (an evil spirit) · la incubo (a nightmare) · fi incubus (an evil spirit) · it incubo (an evil spirit) · it incubo (a nightmare) · ar حلم (a nightmare) · cmn 惡魔 /恶魔 (an evil spirit) · la incubo (an evil spirit)