Golem, from the Hebrew word for a shapeless mass, pronounced 'goylem' in Yiddish. Most famously, the legend of the Golem of Prague, a man-like creature formed from clay and given life by a rabbi who wrote the unspeakable name of God on the being's forehead. The is no connection to J R R Tolkein's Gollum.
Thanks to TheLady for her help.