hoodoo

 
Pronunciation: /ˈhuːduː/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] voodoo or witchcraft: [as modifier]: a visit to a local hoodoo doctor
  • [count noun] a run of bad luck associated with a person or activity: when is this hoodoo going to end?
  • [count noun] a person or thing that brings or causes bad luck.
  • 2chiefly North American a column or pinnacle of weathered rock: a towering sandstone hoodoo

verb (hoodoos, hoodooing, hoodooed)

[with object]
  • bewitch: she’s hoodooed you
  • bring bad luck to: a fine player, but repeatedly hoodooed

Origin:

late 19th century (originally US): apparently an alteration of voodoo. It originally denoted a person who practised voodoo, hence a hidden cause of bad luck (hoodoo (sense 1 of the noun)). hoodoo (sense 2 of the noun) is apparently due to the resemblance of the rock column to a strange human form, often topped by an overhanging ‘hat’ of harder rock