different between wendigo vs skinwalker

English

Etymology

From Ojibwe wiindigoo, from Proto-Algonquian *wi·nteko·wa (“owl; malevolent spirit, cannibalistic monster”). Compare Cree wihtikow, ?????? (iyhtikow, “greedy person; cannibal; giant man-eating monster”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?w?nd????/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?w?ndi?o?/
• Hyphenation: wen?di?go

Noun

wendigo (plural wendigo or wendigos or wendigoes)

1. (mythology) A malevolent and violent cannibal spirit found in Anishinaabe, Ojibwe, and Cree mythology, which is said to inhabit the body of a living person and possess him or her to commit murder.

   Synonyms: wetiko, wihtikow, witigo, (derived from Cree) witiko
2. Synonym of splake (“kind of hybrid fish”)

Alternative forms

• wiindigoo
• windago
• windiga
• windigo

Derived terms

• wendigo psychosis

Translations

Further reading

• wendigo on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “windigo”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• widgeon

English

Alternative forms

• skin-walker

Etymology

skin +? walker

Noun

skinwalker (plural skinwalkers)

1. A person, in certain Native American mythologies, who can transform into any animal when wearing its pelt.

Related terms

• skinwalking

Translations

See also

• nahual
• narnauk