Horcrux
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 In Harry Potter, an object in which a wizard has concealed a part of their soul through magic, rendering them immortal until the object is irreparably damaged or destroyed.
"They stared at it as if it was the one ring or the holy grail or a horcrux, or perhaps all of them rolled into one. An empty, plastic cat food bowl."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of horcrux. alt-of
- 3 Something in which one has invested a part of one's self; an object which allows for the preservation of memory, culture, etc. broadly
"When I read manuscripts, I feel very aware that some part of the writer's soul lives in the pages—like a good Horcrux, say—and if I’m turning one down, I need to do so with thoughtfulness and respect."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The horcrux of stepmother was the magic mirror."
Etymology
Coined by author J. K. Rowling apparently at random; "invent[ed] […] after much transposition of syllables". Fans have pointed to the possible influence of Middle English hore (“iniquity, evil, sin”) and English crux (“the central or essential part”), among other theories. The term first appears in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.