ghoul
/ɡʉw(ə)l/ noun
Forms ghouls ghole
- noun (mythology) A demon said to feed on corpses.
- noun A graverobber.
- noun A person with an undue interest in death and corpses, or more generally in things that are revolting and repulsive.
- noun (derogatory, colloquial) A person with a callous or uncaring attitude to human life and suffering, particularly when prioritizing economic concerns.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French goule, from Persian غول (ġul) from Arabic غُول (ḡūl).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An imaginary evil being among Eastern nations, which was supposed to feed upon human bodies. [Written also ghole .] Moore.
Etymology [Per. gh an imaginary sylvan demon, supposed to devour men and animals: cf. Ar. gh, F. goule.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ghoul”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details