See witch doctor in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for witch doctor meaning in English (21.1kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "witch doctors",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "witch doctor (plural witch doctors)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"witch"
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"parents": [
"Terms with redundant transliterations",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Occupations",
"orig": "en:Occupations",
"parents": [
"People",
"Work",
"Human",
"Human activity",
"All topics",
"Human behaviour",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Shamanism",
"orig": "en:Shamanism",
"parents": [
"Paganism",
"Occult",
"Religion",
"Forteana",
"Culture",
"Pseudoscience",
"Society",
"Sciences",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"word": "medicine man"
},
{
"word": "medicine woman"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "witch-doctoring"
},
{
"word": "witch-doctory"
},
{
"word": "witch-doctress"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1718, Francis Hutchinson, “The Tryal before My Lord Chief Baron Hale”, in An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft. […], London: Printed for R. Knaplock, […], and D. Midwinter, […], →OCLC, page 110",
"text": "[T]he ſaid Dorothy Durent, having been with a Witch-Doctor, acknowledges upon Oath, that by his Advice, ſhe hang'd up her Child's Blanket in the Chimney, found a Toad in it at Night, had put it into the Fire, and held it there tho' it made a great and horrible Noiſe, and flaſht like Gunpowder, and went off like a Piſtol, and then became inviſible, and that by this the Priſoner was ſcorch'd and burn'd lamentably.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1820, J[ohn] C. Knowlson, “The Felon”, in The Complete Cow-leech, or Cattle-Doctor; […], Otley, Yorkshire: Printed for the author by T. F. Bristow, […], →OCLC, page 104",
"text": "Some people are so foolish as to go to a witch-doctor when they have Cows in this complaint [prematurely parting with their unborn calves]:—they give him some money, and he tells them some frivolous tale, such as that some person that wishes them bad luck, or looks upon them with an evil eye, [...]",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1893, South African Law Journal, volume 10, Cape Town: Juta & Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 219",
"text": "At that consultation, according to the habit of a witch-doctor, he divined and announced the occasion of their attendance, and indicated the complainant, Mdungazwe, as the wizard who had caused Ranise to suffer.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1958 April 1, David Seville [pseudonym; Ross Bagdasarian Sr.] (lyrics and music), “Witch Doctor”, in The Alvin Show",
"text": "I told the witch doctor I was in love with you / And then the witch doctor he told me what to do",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1971, W. G. Jilek, “From Crazy Witch Doctor to Auxiliary Psychotherapist: The Changing Image of the Medicine Man”, in Psychiatria Clinica, volume 4, number 4, Basel, New York, N.Y.: S[amuel] Karger, →OCLC, abstract, page 200",
"text": "Review of the literature cited in the bibliography of the present paper left this author with the impression that there is indeed a very widespread institution variously labelled by Western observers with epithets such as medicine-man, shaman, witch-doctor, native healer, or with indigenous terms such as angakok (Eskimo), or mganga (Swahili).",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1982, Sudhir Kakar, “Other Shamans”, in Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions, New York, N.Y.: Knopf; republished New York, N.Y.: Knopf, 2013",
"text": "In much of popular Western literature, the non-Western professional who attends to the relief of distress and alleviation of anxiety in his society is known by many names, none of them exactly respectful. He is a medicine man or a witch doctor, native healer or voodoo sorcerer—the \"quack,\" so to speak, never the \"doctor.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1993, Hama Tuma, The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories (African Writers Series), Oxford, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, page 36",
"text": "The man being led into the Cage did not strike me as a witchdoctor. Slim and tall, he was a middle-aged man with a fuzzy Afro which made him look even younger.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person (often male) who is believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magical powers; a shaman."
],
"hypernyms": [
{
"word": "healer"
}
],
"hyponyms": [
{
"tags": [
"Central-America"
],
"word": "curandero"
},
{
"english": "Malay",
"word": "dukun"
},
{
"tags": [
"Africa"
],
"word": "mganga"
},
{
"alt": "Sotho",
"word": "ngaka"
},
{
"tags": [
"Africa",
"Caribbean"
],
"word": "obeah"
},
{
"english": "Jarai (Vietnam)",
"word": "sadet"
},
{
"tags": [
"South-Africa"
],
"word": "sangoma"
}
],
"id": "en-witch_doctor-en-noun-cAykTWLZ",
"links": [
[
"believed",
"believe#Verb"
],
[
"ward off",
"ward off"
],
[
"witchcraft",
"witchcraft"
],
[
"heal",
"heal"
],
[
"magical",
"magical"
],
[
"powers",
"power#Noun"
],
[
"shaman",
"shaman"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "witch-doctor"
},
{
"word": "witchdoctor"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "ṭabīb sāḥir",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "طَبِيب سَاحِر"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "hekʻim",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "հեքիմ"
},
{
"code": "be",
"lang": "Belarusian",
"roman": "šamán",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шама́н"
},
{
"code": "be",
"lang": "Belarusian",
"roman": "znáxar",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "зна́хар"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "znahar",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "знахар"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "šaman",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шаман"
},
{
"code": "ram",
"lang": "Canela",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "caj"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "bruixot"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandero"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "curandera"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "fetiller"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "fetillera"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "xaman"
},
{
"code": "ny",
"lang": "Chichewa",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "sing'anga"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "巫醫"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wūyī",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "巫医"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "šaman"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "heksedoktor"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "sjamaan"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ŝamano"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "noitatohtori"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "poppamies"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "guérisseur"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "guérisseuse"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "bieiteira"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandeiro"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "meigo"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "meiga"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "menciñeiro"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "menciñeira"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "ekimbaši",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ექიმბაში"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "ǯadokari",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ჯადოქარი"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "grʒneuli",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "გრძნეული"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Hexendoktor"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Hexendoktorin"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Medizinmann"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Medizinfrau"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "rofé elíl",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "רוֹפֵא אֱלִיל"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "galdralæknir"
},
{
"code": "id",
"lang": "Indonesian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "dukun santet"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "sciamano"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sciamana"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "stregone"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "stregona"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "taumaturgo"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "taumaturga"
},
{
"alt": "じゅじゅつい",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "jujutsui",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "呪術医"
},
{
"code": "kg",
"lang": "Kongo",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "nganga"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "jusulsa",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "주술사"
},
{
"code": "ky",
"lang": "Kyrgyz",
"roman": "emcilik",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "эмчилик"
},
{
"code": "ln",
"lang": "Lingala",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "nganga-nkísi"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "bajač",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "бајач"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "vrač",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "врач"
},
{
"code": "ms",
"lang": "Malay",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "bomoh"
},
{
"code": "ms",
"lang": "Malay",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "dukun"
},
{
"code": "ms",
"lang": "Malay",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "pawang"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "heksedoktor"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "heksedoktor"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "szaman"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "uzdrowiciel"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "znachor"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"dialectal",
"feminine"
],
"word": "ciota"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "zamawiacz"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "zamawiaczka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandeiro"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "curandeira"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"masculine"
],
"word": "xamã"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"masculine"
],
"word": "pajé"
},
{
"code": "qu",
"lang": "Quechua",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "jampiri"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "șaman"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "vrăjitor"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "vraci"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "šamán",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шама́н"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "znáxarʹ",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "зна́харь"
},
{
"code": "sm",
"lang": "Samoan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "bonudatra"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic",
"masculine"
],
"word": "врач"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic",
"feminine"
],
"word": "вра̀чара"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Roman",
"masculine"
],
"word": "vrȃč"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Roman",
"feminine"
],
"word": "vràčara"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "brujo"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "bruja"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandero"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "curandera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "hechicero"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "hechicera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Central-America",
"Mexico",
"masculine"
],
"word": "nahual"
},
{
"code": "sw",
"lang": "Swahili",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "mganga"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "häxdoktor"
},
{
"code": "tl",
"lang": "Tagalog",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "albularyo"
},
{
"code": "tn",
"lang": "Tswana",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ngaka"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "bakşı"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "büyücü"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "Camanbay"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "kam"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "otacı"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "üfürükçü"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "şaman"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "šamán",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шама́н"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "znáxar",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "зна́хар"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "thầy mo"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "thầy phù thuỷ"
},
{
"code": "xh",
"lang": "Xhosa",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"class-5",
"class-6"
],
"word": "igqirha"
},
{
"code": "zu",
"lang": "Zulu",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"class-7",
"class-8"
],
"word": "isangoma"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Borno State"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈwɪtʃ ˌdɒktə/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈwɪtʃ ˌdɑktɚ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "en-au-witch doctor.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/En-au-witch_doctor.ogg/En-au-witch_doctor.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/En-au-witch_doctor.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "witch doctor"
}
{
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"word": "medicine man"
},
{
"word": "medicine woman"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "witch-doctoring"
},
{
"word": "witch-doctory"
},
{
"word": "witch-doctress"
}
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "witch doctors",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "witch doctor (plural witch doctors)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hypernyms": [
{
"word": "healer"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"witch"
],
"hyponyms": [
{
"tags": [
"Central-America"
],
"word": "curandero"
},
{
"english": "Malay",
"word": "dukun"
},
{
"tags": [
"Africa"
],
"word": "mganga"
},
{
"alt": "Sotho",
"word": "ngaka"
},
{
"tags": [
"Africa",
"Caribbean"
],
"word": "obeah"
},
{
"english": "Jarai (Vietnam)",
"word": "sadet"
},
{
"tags": [
"South-Africa"
],
"word": "sangoma"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with quotations",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
"en:Occupations",
"en:Shamanism"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1718, Francis Hutchinson, “The Tryal before My Lord Chief Baron Hale”, in An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft. […], London: Printed for R. Knaplock, […], and D. Midwinter, […], →OCLC, page 110",
"text": "[T]he ſaid Dorothy Durent, having been with a Witch-Doctor, acknowledges upon Oath, that by his Advice, ſhe hang'd up her Child's Blanket in the Chimney, found a Toad in it at Night, had put it into the Fire, and held it there tho' it made a great and horrible Noiſe, and flaſht like Gunpowder, and went off like a Piſtol, and then became inviſible, and that by this the Priſoner was ſcorch'd and burn'd lamentably.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1820, J[ohn] C. Knowlson, “The Felon”, in The Complete Cow-leech, or Cattle-Doctor; […], Otley, Yorkshire: Printed for the author by T. F. Bristow, […], →OCLC, page 104",
"text": "Some people are so foolish as to go to a witch-doctor when they have Cows in this complaint [prematurely parting with their unborn calves]:—they give him some money, and he tells them some frivolous tale, such as that some person that wishes them bad luck, or looks upon them with an evil eye, [...]",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1893, South African Law Journal, volume 10, Cape Town: Juta & Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 219",
"text": "At that consultation, according to the habit of a witch-doctor, he divined and announced the occasion of their attendance, and indicated the complainant, Mdungazwe, as the wizard who had caused Ranise to suffer.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1958 April 1, David Seville [pseudonym; Ross Bagdasarian Sr.] (lyrics and music), “Witch Doctor”, in The Alvin Show",
"text": "I told the witch doctor I was in love with you / And then the witch doctor he told me what to do",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1971, W. G. Jilek, “From Crazy Witch Doctor to Auxiliary Psychotherapist: The Changing Image of the Medicine Man”, in Psychiatria Clinica, volume 4, number 4, Basel, New York, N.Y.: S[amuel] Karger, →OCLC, abstract, page 200",
"text": "Review of the literature cited in the bibliography of the present paper left this author with the impression that there is indeed a very widespread institution variously labelled by Western observers with epithets such as medicine-man, shaman, witch-doctor, native healer, or with indigenous terms such as angakok (Eskimo), or mganga (Swahili).",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1982, Sudhir Kakar, “Other Shamans”, in Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions, New York, N.Y.: Knopf; republished New York, N.Y.: Knopf, 2013",
"text": "In much of popular Western literature, the non-Western professional who attends to the relief of distress and alleviation of anxiety in his society is known by many names, none of them exactly respectful. He is a medicine man or a witch doctor, native healer or voodoo sorcerer—the \"quack,\" so to speak, never the \"doctor.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1993, Hama Tuma, The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories (African Writers Series), Oxford, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, page 36",
"text": "The man being led into the Cage did not strike me as a witchdoctor. Slim and tall, he was a middle-aged man with a fuzzy Afro which made him look even younger.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person (often male) who is believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magical powers; a shaman."
],
"links": [
[
"believed",
"believe#Verb"
],
[
"ward off",
"ward off"
],
[
"witchcraft",
"witchcraft"
],
[
"heal",
"heal"
],
[
"magical",
"magical"
],
[
"powers",
"power#Noun"
],
[
"shaman",
"shaman"
]
],
"wikipedia": [
"Borno State"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈwɪtʃ ˌdɒktə/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈwɪtʃ ˌdɑktɚ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "en-au-witch doctor.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7c/En-au-witch_doctor.ogg/En-au-witch_doctor.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/En-au-witch_doctor.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "witch-doctor"
},
{
"word": "witchdoctor"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "ṭabīb sāḥir",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "طَبِيب سَاحِر"
},
{
"code": "hy",
"lang": "Armenian",
"roman": "hekʻim",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "հեքիմ"
},
{
"code": "be",
"lang": "Belarusian",
"roman": "šamán",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шама́н"
},
{
"code": "be",
"lang": "Belarusian",
"roman": "znáxar",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "зна́хар"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "znahar",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "знахар"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "šaman",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шаман"
},
{
"code": "ram",
"lang": "Canela",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "caj"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "bruixot"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandero"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "curandera"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "fetiller"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "fetillera"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "xaman"
},
{
"code": "ny",
"lang": "Chichewa",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "sing'anga"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "巫醫"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "wūyī",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "巫医"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "šaman"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "heksedoktor"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "sjamaan"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ŝamano"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "noitatohtori"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "poppamies"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "guérisseur"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "guérisseuse"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "bieiteira"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandeiro"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "meigo"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "meiga"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "menciñeiro"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "menciñeira"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "ekimbaši",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ექიმბაში"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "ǯadokari",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ჯადოქარი"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "grʒneuli",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "გრძნეული"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Hexendoktor"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Hexendoktorin"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Medizinmann"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Medizinfrau"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "rofé elíl",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "רוֹפֵא אֱלִיל"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "galdralæknir"
},
{
"code": "id",
"lang": "Indonesian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "dukun santet"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "sciamano"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sciamana"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "stregone"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "stregona"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "taumaturgo"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "taumaturga"
},
{
"alt": "じゅじゅつい",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "jujutsui",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "呪術医"
},
{
"code": "kg",
"lang": "Kongo",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "nganga"
},
{
"code": "ko",
"lang": "Korean",
"roman": "jusulsa",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "주술사"
},
{
"code": "ky",
"lang": "Kyrgyz",
"roman": "emcilik",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "эмчилик"
},
{
"code": "ln",
"lang": "Lingala",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "nganga-nkísi"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "bajač",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "бајач"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "vrač",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "врач"
},
{
"code": "ms",
"lang": "Malay",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "bomoh"
},
{
"code": "ms",
"lang": "Malay",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "dukun"
},
{
"code": "ms",
"lang": "Malay",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "pawang"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "heksedoktor"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "heksedoktor"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "szaman"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "uzdrowiciel"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "znachor"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"dialectal",
"feminine"
],
"word": "ciota"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "zamawiacz"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "zamawiaczka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandeiro"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "curandeira"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"masculine"
],
"word": "xamã"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Brazil",
"masculine"
],
"word": "pajé"
},
{
"code": "qu",
"lang": "Quechua",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "jampiri"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "șaman"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "vrăjitor"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "vraci"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "šamán",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шама́н"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "znáxarʹ",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "зна́харь"
},
{
"code": "sm",
"lang": "Samoan",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "bonudatra"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic",
"masculine"
],
"word": "врач"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic",
"feminine"
],
"word": "вра̀чара"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Roman",
"masculine"
],
"word": "vrȃč"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Roman",
"feminine"
],
"word": "vràčara"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "brujo"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "bruja"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "curandero"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "curandera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "hechicero"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "hechicera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"Central-America",
"Mexico",
"masculine"
],
"word": "nahual"
},
{
"code": "sw",
"lang": "Swahili",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "mganga"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "häxdoktor"
},
{
"code": "tl",
"lang": "Tagalog",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "albularyo"
},
{
"code": "tn",
"lang": "Tswana",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "ngaka"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "bakşı"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "büyücü"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "Camanbay"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "kam"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "otacı"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "üfürükçü"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "şaman"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "šamán",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "шама́н"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "znáxar",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "зна́хар"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "thầy mo"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"word": "thầy phù thuỷ"
},
{
"code": "xh",
"lang": "Xhosa",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"class-5",
"class-6"
],
"word": "igqirha"
},
{
"code": "zu",
"lang": "Zulu",
"sense": "person believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magic",
"tags": [
"class-7",
"class-8"
],
"word": "isangoma"
}
],
"word": "witch doctor"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.