Brewer's: Jinn

A sort of fairies in Arabian mythology, the offspring of fire. They propagate their species like human beings, and are governed by a race of kings named Suleyman, one of whom “built the pyramids.” Their chief abode is the mountain Kâf, and they appear to men under the forms of serpents, dogs, cats, monsters, or even human beings, and become invisible at pleasure. The evil jinn are hideously ugly, but the good are exquisitely beautiful. According to fable, they were created from fire two thousand years before Adam was made of earth. The singular of jinn is jinnee. (See Fairy.)

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