Shinigami literaly translated means: Death God, or God of
Death. It is most commonly used in the
Anime/Manga "Bleach" and the
Anime/Manga "Death Note".
In Bleach, Shinigamis' (Soul Reapers in the English Translation) main jobs are to send spirits to the Soul Society (
aka. the afterlife) and to cleanse Hollows.
In Death Note, Shinigamis are the (original) owners of notebooks called the Death Note. If a name is written in the Note, then the person of that name would die, and the responsible Shinigami would gain life.
Rukia gave Ichigo Shinigami powers to
fight the hollow FishboneD.
Whoever writes a name of a
person in the Death Note, that
person would die of a heart attack 40 second later, if not specified.