succubus
Pluralsuccubi, succubuses
- 1A female demon of medieval folklore who comes to men, especially monks, in dreams to seduce and have sex with them, draining their energy to sustain itself, often until exhaustion or death.
Brother Anselm confessed that a succubus had visited him in his sleep, and by spring he was too weak to leave his bed.
Medieval preachers warned that incubi and succubi preyed on sleepers who neglected their prayers.
UsagePlural succubi or succubuses. The male demon is an incubus.
Note
Middle English reshaped Late Latin succuba to match incubus, its male counterpart, and the two travel as a pair. Italo Calvino's The Castle of Crossed Destinies sets "incubi and succubi" among witches and vampires.
Less common meaning
- 2A contemptuous word for a prostitute, a woman who is paid for sex.
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Origin
The word began as Late Latin succuba ("strumpet," especially a mythical female demon who lies with sleeping men), which medieval Latin reshaped as succubus on the model of the masculine incubus. Succuba itself comes from Latin succubo ("to lie under"), built from sub- ("under") and cubare ("to lie down").