noun
Meaning 1
A traditional faith healer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: witch doctor
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
shaman
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
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʃɑːmən/
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Received-Pronunciation:
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɑːmən
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rhymes with -æmən
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General-American: /ˈʃɑːmən/
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General-American:
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rhymes with -eɪmən
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rhymes with -ɑːn
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CMU ARPABET: SH EY1 M AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A member of certain tribal societies who acts as a spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds; sometimes also a healer.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Near-synonyms: medicine man, medicine woman, priest-doctor, witch doctor
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: medicine man, medicine woman, priest-doctor, witch doctor
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
in societies practicing shamanism: one acting as a medium between the visible and spirit worlds; practices sorcery for healing or divination
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: priest-doctor
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: priest, non-Christian priest
Narrower terms: medicine man
History
Etymology
Borrowed from German Schamane, from Russian шама́н (šamán), from Evenki шама̄н (şamān), сама̄н (samān), from Proto-Tungusic *samān. The Evenki word is possibly derived from the root ша- (şa-, “to know”); or else a loanword from Tocharian B ṣamāne (“monk”) or Chinese 沙門 /沙门 (shāmén, “Buddhist monk”), from Pali samaṇa from Sanskrit श्रमण (śramaṇa, “ascetic, monk, devotee”), from श्रम (śrama, “weariness, exhaustion; labor, toil; etc.”), which would make this a doublet of sramana.
Across languages
Translations
198 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Akurio: piyahi — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Southern Altai: кам (kam) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Southern Altai: јел уусту (ǰel uustu) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Amis: cikawasay — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Apalaí: pyaxi — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Arabic: شَامَان (šāmān) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Arabic: كَاهِن (kāhin) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Arabic: عَرَّاف (ʕarrāf) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Armenian: շաման (šaman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Awetí: paié — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Azerbaijani: şaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Bakairí: pyaji — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Basque: xaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Belarusian: шама́н (šamán) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Belarusian: зна́хар (znáxar) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Bengali: ওঝা (ōjha) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Bulgarian: шама́н (šamán) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Bulgarian: влъ́хва (vlǎ́hva) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Buryat: бөө (böö) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Canela: caj — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Carijona: hiyači — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Catalan: xaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Chamicuro: kapunutakajpola — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Chinese Mandarin: 薩滿 /萨满 (sàmǎn) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Chinese Mandarin: 巫醫 /巫医 (wūyī) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Chinese Mandarin: 巫 (wū) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Chinese Mandarin: 巫師 /巫师 (wūshī) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Corsican: mazzeru — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Czech: šaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Danish: shaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Danish: vølve — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Daur: yadgeng — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dogrib: díge'jon — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dolgan: ойун (oyun) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dutch: sjamaan — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dutch: bonuman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dutch: lukuman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dutch: piai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Dutch: piaiman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Esperanto: ŝamano — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Esperanto: ŝamanino — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Estonian: nõid — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Even: хама̄н (hamān) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Evenki: шама̄н (şamān) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Evenki: сама̄н (samān) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Evenki: хама̄н (hamān) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Eyak: xiil — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Faroese: shamanur — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Finnish: šamaani — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Finnish: poppamies — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- French: chamane — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- French: chaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- French: chamane — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- French: shaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- French: shamane — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Friulian: benandant — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Galician: xamán — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Georgian: შამანი (šamani) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- German: Schamane — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- German: Schamanin — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Greek: σαμάνος (samános) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Greek: σαμάν (samán) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Greek: ιατρομάντης (iatromántis) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Greenlandic: angakkoq — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Hebrew: שמאן (shaman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Hebrew: שמאנית (shamanit) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Hindi: शामन (śāman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Hindi: ओझा (ojhā) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- White Hmong: neeb — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- White Hmong: txiv neeb — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Hungarian: sámán — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Hungarian: táltos — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Icelandic: völva — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Igbo: dibị̀à — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Indonesian: dukun — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Inuktitut: ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ (angatkoq) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Inuvialuktun: angatkuq — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Italian: sciamano — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Italian: sciamana — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Japanese: シャーマン (shāman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kalmyk: бө (bö) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kanakanabu: 'ʉrʉvʉ — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kari'na: pyjai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Karok: xus'úmaan — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kazakh: бақсы (baqsy) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Ket: сенаң (senaŋ) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Khmer: គ្រូហ្ម (kruu maa) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Korean: 무당 (mudang) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Korean: 샤먼 (syameon) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kuikúro: hüati — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kyrgyz: бакшы (bakşı) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Kyrgyz: шаман (şaman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Latin: samānus — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Maasai: ɔl-aibóni — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Macedonian: ша́ман (šáman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Northeast Maidu: jòmí — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Malay: pawang — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Manchu: ᠰᠠᠮᠠᠨ (saman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Mapudungun: machi — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Mongolian: бөө (böö) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Mongolian: удган (udgan) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Classical Mongolian: ᠪᠥ᠋ᠭᠡ (böge) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Nanai: саман (saman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Nandi: orkoiyo — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Narragansett: powwáw — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Navajo: hataałii — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tundra Nenets: тадебя (tadyebya) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Nganasan: ŋеq (ŋeq) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Nootka: ʔuštaqyuu — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Norwegian Bokmål: sjaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Norwegian Bokmål: volve — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Norwegian Nynorsk: sjaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Norwegian Nynorsk: volve — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Old Norse: vǫlva — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Orok: сама (sama) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Paiwan: malada — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Pemon: piyai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Persian: شمن (šaman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Pökoot: werkoiyon — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Polish: szaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Polish: szamanka — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Polish: wołchw — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Portuguese: xamã — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Portuguese: xamane — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Puyuma: temararamaw — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Quechua: jampiri — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Romanian: șaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Russian: шама́н (šamán) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Russian: шама́нка (šamánka) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Russian: зна́харь (znáxarʹ) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Russian: волхв (volxv) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Saaroa: 'ʉlʉvʉ — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Lule-Sami: noajdde — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Northern Sami: noaidi — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Southern Sami: nåejttie — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Selk'nam: xon — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Serbo-Croatian: здухаћ (zduhać) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Serbo-Croatian: krsnik — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Serbo-Croatian: шаман — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Serbo-Croatian: šaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Shipibo-Conibo: unaya — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Shor: қам (qam) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Shoshone: puhakantɨn — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Shuar: uwishín — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Slovene: volh — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Spanish: chamán — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Spanish: chamana — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Spanish: shamán — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Spanish: shamana — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Spanish: curandero — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Spanish: curandera — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Sranan Tongo: bonuman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Sranan Tongo: lukuman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Sranan Tongo: obiaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Sranan Tongo: dresiman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Sranan Tongo: piai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Sranan Tongo: piaiman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Swedish: schaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Swedish: völva — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tajik: шаман (šaman) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tajik: азоимхон (azoyimxon) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tanacross: deyenenh — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Thai: ร่างทรง (râang-song) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Thai: คนทรง (kon-song) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Thai: คนทรงเจ้า — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Thai: คนทรงเจ้าเข้าผี — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tibetan: ནུས་ཐུ་མ (nus thu ma) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tlingit: íx̱t’ — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tofa: һам (ham) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Trió: pïjai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tsou: yoifo — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Turkish: şaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Turkish: kam — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Turkish: bakşı — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Turkmen: şaman — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Turkmen: porhan — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Tuvan: хам (xam) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Ukrainian: шама́н (šamán) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Ukrainian: знаха́р (znaxár) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Uyghur: باخشى (baxshi) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Uyghur: داخان (daxan) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Uyghur: پېرىخون (përixon) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Uzbek: somon — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Uzbek: baxshi — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Uzbek: shomon — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Vietnamese: thầy đồng — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Vietnamese: thầy pháp — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Waiwai: yaskomo — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Wayampi: paye — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Wayana: pïjai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Xhosa: igqirha — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Yakut: ойуун (oyuun) — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Yámana: yekamush — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Yao (South America): peeiai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Yao (South America): peeai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Ye'kwana: jüwai — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Yup'ik: angalkuq — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
- Zulu: isangoma — spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds
Real reading context