Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun In Jewish folklore, an artificially created human supernaturally endowed with life.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Jewish use, a shapeless mass; an unfinished vessel or a lifeless bulk; in modern Jewish parlance, a blockhead; a stupid.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A Creature made of mud and clay. Brought to life from a magical spell on a piece of paper shoved in its mouth.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mechanism that can move automatically
  • noun (Jewish folklore) an artificially created human being that is given life by supernatural means

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Hebrew gōlem, lump, clod, fool, from gālam, to wrap up; see glm in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hebrew גולם \ גֹּלֶם (gólem).

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Examples

  • The impression you get from a golem is more of brute force and slavery which I doubt is what you are going for with your character.

    Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Open Writing Forum 2009

  • Knowing this, what do you think the significance of the golem is in this novel.

    The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon: Questions 2000

  • And I think a golem is a pretty accurate metaphor.

    nessus Diary Entry nessus 2006

  • If you played D&D or are Jewish, you know that a golem is a living creature animated out of inanimate material, in this case clay.

    Archive 2005-12-01 Tripp 2005

  • He tried to quell his human softness, knowing the golem was a literally heartless, unliving thing, but he could not.

    Split Infinity Anthony, Piers 1980

  • He tried to quell his human softness, knowing the golem was a literally heartless, unliving thing, but he could not.

    Split Infinity Anthony, Piers 1980

  • There is a creature found in traditional Jewish folklore called the golem, an animate humanlike being fashioned completely from inanimate material.

    Queen's Journal: Latest stories 2009

  • There is a creature found in traditional Jewish folklore called the golem, an animate humanlike being fashioned completely from inanimate material.

    Queen's Journal: Latest stories 2009

  • Both versions recall the golem running amok and threatening innocent lives, so Rabbi Loew removed the Divine Name, rendering the golem lifeless.

    Jihad Monitor 2008

  • I did want to take a moment to point out how the reviewer takes umbrage with my usage of the word "golem" instead of "zombie".

    An interesting bad review... 2009

Comments

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  • גול�?

    September 21, 2007