golem

noun

go·​lem ˈgō-ləm How to pronounce golem (audio) ˈgȯi- How to pronounce golem (audio)
ˈgā-
1
: an artificial human being in Hebrew folklore endowed with life
2
: something or someone resembling a golem: such as
a
b

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The Evolution of Golem

The Hebrew ancestor of the word golem means “shapeless mass,” and the original mythical golems started as lumps of clay that were formed into figures and brought to life by means of a charm or a combination of letters forming a sacred word. In the Middle Ages, golems were thought to be the perfect servants; their only fault was that they were sometimes too literal or mechanical in fulfilling their masters’ orders. In the 16th century, the golem was thought of as a protector of the Jews in times of persecution. But following its entrance into English, golem acquired a less friendly second sense, referring to a man-made monster that inspired many of the back-from-the-dead creations of classic horror fiction. These days, the word golem is frequently used in the gaming world for a variety of foes and beasties made of materials ranging from ice to iron to even, in one game, candy.

Examples of golem in a Sentence

the supervisor was a golem who never had an unprogrammed thought in her life
Recent Examples on the Web The silent years were stalked by German versions of golems and vampires, while an American makeup wizard named Lon Chaney gave fright a face — or rather, a gallery of faces. A.a. Dowd, Washington Post, 31 July 2024 The big basket-o-fire golems seen in the last gameplay trailer are on the move, and Mesmer, the seeming big bad of this DLC, is triumphant. Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 21 May 2024 Combining centuries-old Jewish folklore with the then-new medium of cinema, Paul Wegener and Carl Boese’s pioneering horror film draws its inspiration from a legend about a life-sized clay figure — a golem — that came to life to protect the Jews of Prague. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 The result is a spooky visage of some sort of golem staring out of the planet's surface. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for golem 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'golem.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish goylem, from Hebrew gōlem shapeless mass

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of golem was in 1897

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Dictionary Entries Near golem

Cite this Entry

“Golem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/golem. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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