different between voodoo vs obeah

English

Etymology

From Louisiana Creole French voudou, from Haitian Creole vodou, from a West African language, such as Ewe vód? (“deity, idol”), Fon vòdún (“fetish”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?vu?du?/

Noun

voodoo (countable and uncountable, plural voodoos)

1. Any of a group of related religious practices found chiefly in and around the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti and Louisiana.
   • 2007, Kevin Filan, The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Destiny Books 2007, p. 13:

     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.

2. The spiritual beliefs of the Ewe/Fon of West Africa, practiced chiefly in Benin and in the south of Togo.
3. (derogatory) Any sort of magical or irrational approach to a problem.

   I want a real explanation, not this statistical voodoo.

4. (dated) One who practices voodoo; a native sorcerer.
   • 1889, Longman's Magazine (volume 14, page 557)

     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.

Alternative forms

• (religion of Africa or the Americas): vodou, vodoun, voudon, voudoun, vodun, voudou, Voodoo

Synonyms

• (religion): voodooism

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

voodoo (third-person singular simple present voodoos, present participle voodooing, simple past and past participle voodooed)

1. To bewitch someone or something using voodoo

   He claimed his neighbor had voodooed him.

See also

• hoodoo
• Haitian Vodou on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• West African Vodun on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Finnish

Noun

voodoo

1. voodoo

Declension

Italian

Noun

voodoo m (invariable)

1. Alternative spelling of vudù

Adjective

voodoo (invariable)

1. Alternative spelling of vudù

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From English voodoo, from Louisiana Creole French voudou, from Haitian Creole vodou, from a West African language.

Noun

voodoo m (definite singular voodooen, indefinite plural voodooer, definite plural voodooene)

1. voodoo

References

• “voodoo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English voodoo, from Louisiana Creole French voudou, from Haitian Creole vodou, from a West African language.

Noun

voodoo m (definite singular voodooen, indefinite plural voodooar, definite plural voodooane)

1. voodoo

References

• “voodoo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Alternative forms

• wudu

Etymology

From English voodoo, from Louisiana Creole French voudou, from Haitian Creole vodou, from a West African language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?vu.du/

Noun

voodoo n (indeclinable)

1. voodoo (Afro-Caribbean religion)

Further reading

• voodoo in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• voodoo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

English

Alternative forms

• obe, obea, obi, obia, oby

Etymology

Origin 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”).

Pronunciation

• (Caribbean) IPA^(key): /?obia/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???b??/
• Hyphenation: o?be?ah

Noun

obeah (countable and uncountable, plural obeahs)

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

obeah (third-person singular simple present obeahs, present participle obeahing, simple past and past participle obeahed)

1. (transitive) To bewitch using this kind of folk magic.
   • 1906 December – 1907 May, Isabella S. Abel, “The Obeah-man”, in The Windsor Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women, volume XXV, London: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited Warwick House, Salisbury Square, E.C., published 1907, OCLC 224679211, page 392:

     A poor old woman who thinks she has been Obeahed lies ill in an isolated hut on the short cut to New Castle. I discovered her while out shooting, and promised to send her medical aid. Her case is pressing.

References

Anagrams

• bohea