lemures

American  

[lem-yuh-reez, lem-oo-res] / ˈlɛm yəˌriz, ˈlɛm ʊˌrɛs /

plural noun

Roman Religion.

1. ghosts, especially those of a family’s dead, considered troublesome unless exorcised or appeased, as during the annual festival of Lemuralia.

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lemures British  

/ ˈlɛmjʊˌriːz /

plural noun

1. Roman myth the spirits of the dead

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Etymology

Origin of lemures

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin; see origin at lemur

Example Sentences

Morton tells us about Egyptian soul essences — the ka, ba, and akh — and ancient Rome’s demonic lemures and the Icelandic draugar, who were powerful, reanimated corpses.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2015

And if this be only Trophonius's pit, the lemures, hobthrushes, and goblins will certainly swallow us alive, just as they devoured formerly one of Demetrius's halberdiers for want of bridles.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 5 by Motteux, Peter Anthony

That was no superhuman voice—no yell of nightly lemures, but the death-cry, if I err not more widely, of some frail mortal like ourselves.

From The Roman Traitor, Vol. 1 by Herbert, Henry William

Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, sagas, Nocturnos lemures, portentaque Thessala rides?

From Essays and Tales by Morley, Henry

Lemur, the name given to that low family of monkeys, is from the plural Latin word lemures, meaning ghost or spectre.

From The Log of the Sun A Chronicle of Nature's Year by Beebe, William