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jinn

jinn

8 9.9
A spirit from Arabic and Muslim stories that can have magical powers
  • noun
  • /dʒɪn/
  • Literature
translation icon : genio
  • In Arabic lore, a jinn can grant wishes to those who manage to capture them.
  • an evil jinn
  • jinn, or spirits
  • jinn appears to humans

And you go home and you think I'd like a little jinn to take the edge off.

Examples

Synonyms

djinn
vsjinn
  • Literature
18 9.9

An invisible spirit in Muslim belief that can appear as people or animals and affect humans

is the Arabic supernatural spirit term with identical meaning
jinni
vsjinn
  • Literature
1 9.9

A spirit in Islamic stories that can appear as a person or animal and affect people

is the broader Arabic tradition term for such spirits
djinni
vsjinn
  • Literature
1 9.9

A spirit in Islamic stories that is invisible and can appear as a human or animal

retains same supernatural sense but differs in spelling form
jann
vsjinn
  • Literature
1 9.9

A spirit from Arabic stories that can appear and disappear

is the general class, not limited to that particular folkloric type
jinnee
vsjinn
  • Literature
9.9

An invisible spirit from Islamic stories that sometimes affects people

keeps same meaning but varies in historical spelling
djinny
vsjinn
  • Literature
9.9

An invisible spirit people believe can appear as a person or animal and cause strange events

carries identical concept but shows older or rare orthography

Surface Forms

jinn singular
jinns plural

Etymology

The word jinn comes from the Arabic word jinn, from the root j-n-n meaning 'hidden' or 'unseen'. So a jinn is a 'hidden' spirit with mysterious powers, and the same idea later gave English the word genie.