metempsychosis
/ˌmɛtɛmsʌɪˈkəʊsɪs
/noun (plural metempsychoses /ˌmɛtɛmsʌɪˈkəʊsiːz/) [mass noun]
The supposed transmigration at death of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species: like Eliot he has an interest in metempsychosis [count noun]: the speaker perceives himself as an avatar in a sustained metempsychosis...
- His religious teaching centred on the doctrine of metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls from man to man, man to animal, or animal to man in a process of purification or punishment.
- Spiritualism, pan-animism, metempsychosis and reincarnation were at the radical end of a spectrum, but wide consensus existed for accepting evolution as a creed of progress.
- So Virginia, Laura and Clarissa demonstrate a metempsychosis, a transmigration of souls; the languor of their private breakdowns are cousins to each other.
Derivatives
metempsychotic
- The opening female vocal ululations soon enough refract electronically, and the summoned whalesong dimension spires into an urgent metempsychotic groove.
metempsychotically
Origin
Late 16th century: via late Latin from Greek metempsukhōsis, from meta- (expressing change) + en 'in' + psukhē 'soul'.
Rhymes
- abbatial
- abbatical
- Abbe condenser
- Abbe, Ernst
- Abbe number
- Abbe refractometer
- Abbe's condenser
- Abbe's refractometer
- abbess
- Abbevillian
- abbey
- abbey church
- abbeyed
- abbey laborer
- abbey labourer
- abbey laird
- abbey land
- abbey-like
- abbey-lubber
- abbey man
- abbey piece
- Abbey Road
- abbey-stead
- abbot
- abbot-bishop