the transmigration of the soul, esp. the passage of the soul after death from a human or animal to some other human or animal body.
Origin: 1580–90; < LL < Gk, equiv. to metempsȳchō-, var. s. of metempsȳchoûsthai to pass from one body into another (see met-, em-2, psycho-) + -sis-sis