Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
A (usually female) traditional healer or herbalist, or witch doctor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: South Africa and other parts of Southern Africa
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: isangoma
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a traditional Zulu healer and respected elder
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: therapist, healer
History
Etymology tree Proto-Bantu *ngòmà Zulu íngoma Zulu isángomabor. English sangoma Borrowed from Zulu isángoma (“diviner, witch doctor, sangoma”), possibly from i- + sa- (prefix meaning ‘of’) + íngoma (“dance song performed at a festival; hymn”). The English word is cognate with Afrikaans sangoma, Swazi sángoma.
Across languages
5 source translations are retained for this English entry.
