incubus (A nightmare)

См. также в других словарях:

• Incubus — In cu*bus, n.; pl. E. {Incubuses}, L. {Incubi}. [L., the nightmare. Cf. {Incubate}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A demon; a fiend; a lascivious spirit, supposed to have sexual intercourse with women by night. Tylor. [1913 Webster] The devils who appeared… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• Nightmare — Night mare (n[imac]t m[^a]r ), n. [Night + mare incubus. See {Mare} incubus.] 1. A fiend or incubus formerly supposed to cause trouble in sleep. [archaic] [1913 Webster] 2. A trerrifying or oppressive dream characterized by a sense of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• nightmare — (n.) late 13c., an evil female spirit afflicting sleepers with a feeling of suffocation, compounded from NIGHT (Cf. night) + MARE (Cf. mare) (3) goblin that causes nightmares, incubus. Meaning shifted mid 16c. from the incubus to the suffocating… …   Etymology dictionary

• incubus — ► NOUN (pl. incubi) 1) a male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women. 2) archaic a nightmare. ORIGIN Latin incubo nightmare , from incubare lie on …   English terms dictionary

• incubus — [in′kyə bəs, iŋ′kyə bəs] n. pl. incubuses or incubi [in′kyo͞obī΄, iŋ′kyo͞obī΄; in′kyəbī΄, iŋ′kyəbī΄] [ME < LL, nightmare (in ML, demon supposed to cause nightmares) < L incubare: see INCUBATE] 1. an evil spirit or demon thought in medieval… …   English World dictionary

• incubus — (n.) c.1200, from L.L. (Augustine), from L. incubo nightmare, one who lies down on (the sleeper), from incubare to lie upon (see INCUBATE (Cf. incubate)). Plural is incubi. In the Middle Ages their existence was recognized by law …   Etymology dictionary

• incubus — meaning ‘a male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women’ and hence ‘a nightmare’, has the plural form incubuses …   Modern English usage

• incubus — [n] evil spirit demon, devil, fiend, goblin, hobgoblin, nightmare, succuba, succubus; concepts 370,412 …   New thesaurus

• nightmare — [n] bad dream or experience dream, fancy, fantasy, hallucination, horror, illusion, incubus, ordeal, phantasm, succubus, torment, trial, tribulation, vision; concepts 315,674 Ant. daymare …   New thesaurus

• nightmare — ► NOUN 1) a frightening or unpleasant dream. 2) a very unpleasant experience or prospect. DERIVATIVES nightmarish adjective. ORIGIN originally denoting a female evil spirit thought to lie upon and suffocate sleepers: from Old English mære… …   English terms dictionary

• nightmare —    Also known as ephialtes nocturnus, dream anxiety attack, REM anxiety dream, REM nightmare, and D nightmare. The term nightmare comes from the Old English noun *mare, which means hag or goblin (see also the entries Mar, Mare, and Incubus). It… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations