a female devil (=an evil spirit) , who, according to an ancient Jewish tradition, was the first wife of Adam, and was also a vampire (=an evil spirit that sucks people's blood). In Jewish folklore, a female demon. In rabbinic literature she is depicted either as Adam's first wife or as the mother of his demonic offspring after he separated from Eve outside Paradise (see Adam and Eve). The evil that Lilith directed against children could be counteracted by wearing an amulet bearing the names of the three angels who opposed her. A cult associated with Lilith survived into the 7th century AD