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Medicine man
Definitions
- 1 A Native American shamanistic healer.
"And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, The Wabenos, the Magicians, And the Medicine-men, the Medas, Painted upon bark and deer-skin Figures for the songs they chanted"
- 2 a Native American shaman wordnet
- 3 A traditional healer among other indigenous or ancient peoples.
"When, however, the plant spirits were not strong enough in themselves, then the family called in the Medicine Man. He appeared, a "monster of so frightful mien", with noise making apparatus which produced such a terrifying din that even the hardiest demon was likely to flee."
- 4 The pitchman at a medicine show.
"One of the most successful of the tent road-showmen is Dr. J. Van Cleve, old-time medicine man, who operates out of Portland. Van Cleve pitches his tent for a week and shows a different film program each night combined with a vaude show."
Etymology
Probably a calque of Ojibwe mashkikiiwinini (“doctor”), from mashkiki (“medicine”) + inini (“man”).
See also for "medicine man"
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Unscramble this word: medicineman