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suc·cu·bus

(sŭkyə-bəs) also suc·cu·ba (-bə)

n. pl. suc·cu·bus·es or suc·cu·bi (-bī′, -bē′) also suc·cu·bae (-bē′, -bī′)

1. A female demon supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with a man while he sleeps.

2. An evil spirit; a demon.

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin, alteration (influenced by Late Latin incubus, incubus) of Latin succuba, paramour, from succubāre, to lie under : sub-, sub- + cubāre, to lie down.]

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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