vampirism

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
vampire /ˈvampʌɪə/

▶noun

• 1 (in folklore) a corpse supposed to leave its grave at night to drink the blood of the living.

  ■ a person who ruthlessly exploits others.

• 2 a small bat that feeds on blood by piercing the skin with its incisor teeth, found mainly in tropical America. [Desmodus rotundus and other species.]

• 3 (also vampire trap) Theatre a small spring trapdoor used for sudden disappearances from a stage.

– derivatives
vampiric /-ˈpɪrɪk/ adjective,
vampirism noun.

– origin C18: from Fr., from Hungarian vampir, perh. from Turk. uber ‘witch’.