English Explanatory Dictionary

obeah

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A form of folk magic, medicine or witchcraft originating in Africa and practised in parts of the Caribbean.
  2. A magician or witch doctor of the magic craft.
  3. A spell performed in the practice of the magic craft; an item associated with such a spell.
verb
  1. To bewitch using this kind of folk magic.

Pronunciation

/ˈəʊbɪə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-obeah.wav /ˈobia/

Word forms

obeah obeahs obe obea obi obia oby obeahing obeahed

Etymology

Uncertain; apparently from a Caribbean creole, probably ultimately from a West African language. The Oxford English Dictionary points to Igbo abià (“knowledge, wisdom”), obìa (“doctor, healer”). Cognate of Aukan obiya, Saramaccan obia, and Sranan Tongo obia.

Synonyms

mage shaman spellcaster archmage archmagician bewitcher charmer conjurer illusionist Karcist magic user magus obeah sortileger spellbinder spellmaker thaumaturge theurgist whizz whiz witch doctor wiz wonderworker enchantment makutu wanga cantrip chantment charm craft dwimmer hex incantation magic magic spell mojo pishogue rune spell spellword

Derived words

obeah doctor obeahism obeahman
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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