noun · masculinesecond declension
incubus
incubus m (genitive incubī)
Classical[ˈɪŋ.kʊ.bʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈiŋ.ku.bus]
Meaning
- Late Latinmasculinethe nightmare, incubus
...Siluanos et Panes, quos uulgo incubos uocant, inprobos saepe extitisse mulieribus et earum appetisse ac peregisse concubitum;
...that sylvans and fauns, who are commonly called incubi, had often made wicked assaults upon women, and satisfied their lust upon them;354 CE – 430 CE, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, De Civitate Dei 15.23Pilosi, qui Graece Panitae, Latine Incubi appellantur, sive Inui ab ineundo passim cum animalibus.
556–636 CE, Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae 9
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | incubus | incubī |
| genitive | incubī | incubōrum |
| dative | incubō | incubīs |
| accusative | incubum | incubōs |
| ablative | incubō | incubīs |
| vocative | incube | incubī |
in-cŭbus, i, m. id.,
I. the nightmare, incubus, Aug. Civ. Dei, 15, 23; Isid. Orig. 8, 11.
Origins
From incubō (“to lie upon, brood over, be a burden to”, verb) + -us (second-declension nominalizing suffix). An alternative formation to third-declension Classical incubō, incubōnis (“incubus, nightmare”, noun).
Descendants
- Englishincubus
- Frenchincube
- GermanIncubus
- Italianincubo
- Portugueseíncubo
- Romanianincub
- Spanishíncubo
- Dutchincubus
- Russianинку́б
In English words that came into English from incubus
- incubusincubus