Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

shaman

Definition of shaman

noun (plural shamans)

  • a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits, especially among some peoples of northern Asia and North America. Typically such people enter a trance state during a ritual, and practise divination and healing.

Derivatives

shamanic

Pronunciation: /ʃəˈmanɪk/
adjective

shamanism

noun

shamanist

noun & adjective

shamanistic

Pronunciation: /-ˈnɪstɪk/
adjective

shamanize

(also shamanise) verb

Origin:

late 17th century: from German Schamane and Russian shaman, from Tungus šaman

shaman in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of shaman in the US English dictionary