voodoo
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L330211 on Wikidata ↗verb
- curse or bewitch
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈvuːduː/ / /ˈvudu/ / /ˈvʉdʉ/
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Fon voduder. Haitian Creole Vodouder. Louisiana Creole voudoubor. English voodoo From Louisiana Creole voudou, from Haitian Creole Vodou, from a West African language, such as Ewe vódũ (“deity, idol”), Fon vòdún (“fetish”) or the Kwa languages vodũ.
- Any of a group of related religious practices found chiefly in and around the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti and Louisiana.
“You cannot understand Haitian Vodou as it is practised today without first knowing something about the culture from which it sprang, and the ways history has shaped religion, and vice versa.”
- The spiritual beliefs of the Ewe/Fon of West Africa, practiced chiefly in Benin and in the south of Togo.
- Any sort of magical or irrational approach to a problem.
“I want a real explanation, not this statistical voodoo.”
- One who practices voodoo; a native sorcerer.
“So a reporter of the Boston Herald (U.S.) has 'interviewed' a few local Voodoos. He has seen a dance round a boiling pot, seen some tomfoolery with spiders, and heard a lot of superstitious stories.”
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree Fon voduder. Haitian Creole Vodouder. Louisiana Creole voudoubor. English voodoo From Louisiana Creole voudou, from Haitian Creole Vodou, from a West African language, such as Ewe vódũ (“deity, idol”), Fon vòdún (“fetish”) or the Kwa languages vodũ.
- To bewitch someone or something using voodoo
“He claimed his neighbor had voodooed him.”