gumiho
English
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Korean 구미호 (gumiho, “nine-tailed fox”).
Noun
editgumiho (plural gumihos or gumiho)
- (Korean mythology) A shape-shifting fox spirit, typically said to take the form of a beautiful woman, in order to seduce men and eat their livers.
- 2012, “Translation Notes”, in Laon, volume 5, unnumbered page:
- Gumihos are able to transform into human form, generally beautiful women, in order to seduce men.
- 2016, Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore[1], page 146:
- In their human guise the gumiho will seduce a man, kill him, and then consume his liver.
- 2020, Kat Cho, Vicious Spirits[2], pages 15–16:
- Somin had grown up hearing stories about gumiho—nine-tailed foxes with the ability to live forever as long as they devoured the energy of men.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:gumiho.