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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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
In South African English, a wizard, witch, or a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others or who uses poisons and familiar spirits to carry out harmful deeds.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
The term is first recorded in 1836; it derives from the Zulu word umthakathi, being someone who mixes medicine, which itself comes from the Zulu thaka (mix) and muthi (medicine). The term has gradually come to be used to refer only to negative, harmful uses of medicines derived from plants, animals and minerals.
