jinn

Etymology

From Arabic جِنّ (jinn) (singular جِنِّيّ (jinniyy))

noun

1. (Islam demonology) A genie and descendant of the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form, equivalent to demons in Jewish demonology.
   Now the cemetery was haunted day and night by Jinns who were of the True Believers, and presently came out a Jinniyah who, seeing Hasan asleep, marvelled at his beauty[.] 1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XXI, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 211
   Thus, it was popularly supposed that familiar spirits could be enclosed in rings, or confined in bottles and boxes, just as the Persians thought that djinns could be kept in jars or flasks. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 74