incubus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   in folklore, a male demon believed to lie upon and sexually assault sleeping women

   Medieval accounts blamed an incubus for terrifying nocturnal visitations.

2. 2
   noun

   a person, memory, or situation that oppresses or burdens someone like a nightmare

   The unpaid debt became an incubus that shadowed every decision.

From Late Latin incubus, 'nightmare or one who lies upon a sleeper,' from Latin incubare, 'to lie upon,' formed from in-, 'on,' + cubare, 'to lie down.' The oppressive folklore image produced the figurative burden sense.

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