lemures

plural noun

le·​mu·​res ˈle-mə-ˌrās  ˈlem-yə-ˌrēz 

: spirits of the unburied dead exorcised from homes in early Roman religious rites

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin lemurēs, plural, "malevolent spirits of the dead," probably of non-Indo-European origin

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above