Meanings
plural dybbuks · plural dybbukim · alternative dibbuk
- Judaismhuman sciencesA malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.
And who am I? A dybbuk—a demon of all shapes and no shape. My profession is forced entry into the minds of mortals; my speciality is Jews.
1993, Ellen Galford, The Dyke and the Dybbuk, Seal Press, →ISBN, page 61 more example
The Great Freddie stood up. “I'm glad that our paths crossed again. I want to help you. But I don't want to be possessed by a Jewish dybbuk. When I was growing up, I never saw a Jew. I thought they all wore horns and had tails.” Said the dybbuk, “What do you know? In the shtetl where I grew up, the muddy village, we thought all Christians had tails and horns. And the Nazi soldiers carried pitchforks.”
2008, Sid Fleischman, The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, →ISBN, page 24
Synonyms & antonyms
noun(Jewish folklore) a demon that enters the body of a living person and controls that body's behavior
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Hebrewדבק“cling”
- Yiddishדיבוק
- Englishdybbuk
From Yiddish דיבוק (dibek), from Hebrew דבק (dovek, “cling”).
More words from Yiddish, Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish dibbuk
- dibbukTranslations
French dibbouk
- dibboukTranslations
German Dibbuk
- DibbukTranslations
Yiddish דיבוק
- דיבוק (dibek)Translations
Cite this entry
dybbuk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dybbuk
“dybbuk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dybbuk. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dybbuk,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dybbuk.
Source: dybbuk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.