Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Incubus
1.
A demon; a fiend; a lascivious spirit, supposed to have sexual intercourse with women by night.
Tylor.
The devils who appeared in the female form were generally called succubi; those who appeared like men
incubi
, though this distinction was not always preserved. Lecky.
2.
(Med.)
The nightmare. See
Nightmare
. Such as are troubled with
incubus
, or witch-ridden, as we call it. Burton.
3.
Any oppressive encumbrance or burden; anything that prevents the free use of the faculties.
Debt and usury is the
incubus
which weighs most heavily on the agricultural resources of Turkey. J. L. Farley.
Webster 1828 Edition
Incubus
IN'CUBUS
,Noun.
1.
The nightmare; an oppression of the breast in sleep, or sense of weight, with an almost total loss of the power of moving the body, while the imagination is frightened or astonished.2.
A demon; an imaginary being or fairy.