succubus
/ˈsʌk.jʊ.bəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.53 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A female demon which comes to men, especially monks, in their dreams to seduce them and have sexual intercourse, drawing energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death.
noun
A strumpet, whore or prostitute.
Example Sentences
- "1977 Italo Calvino, The Castle of Crossed Destinies, Part 2, Chapter 5, 1969. Translated from Italian by William Weaver. When the Sabbath is caught by the first ray of the rising sun, all the witches and the vampires, incubi and succubi, take flight, some transforming themselves into noctules, some into other bats, some into still other species of Chiroptera."
Etymology
Pseudo-Latinism, derived from alteration of Late Latin succuba (“strumpet, especially a mythological fiend in female form who has intercourse with men in their sleep”) based on incubus in Middle English, from Latin succubo (“to lie under”), from sub- (“under”) + cubare (“to lie down”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsʌk.jʊ.bəs/
- British English: /ˈsʌk.jʊ.bəs/