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dyb·buk

(dĭbk, dē-bk)

n. pl. dyb·buksor dyb·buk·im (dĭ-bkĭm, dē′b-kēm)

In Jewish folklore, the wandering soul of a dead person that enters the body of a living person and controls the living person's behavior.

[Yiddish dibek, from Hebrew dibbūq, probably from dābaq, to cling; see dbq in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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