Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗noun
A form of folk magic, medicine or witchcraft originating in Africa and practised in parts of the Caribbean. · A magician or witch doctor of the magic craft. · A spell performed in the practice of the magic craft; an item associated with such a spell.
verb
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryTo bewitch using this kind of folk magic.
Uncertain; apparently from a Caribbean creole, probably ultimately from a West African language. The Oxford English Dictionary points to Igbo abià (“knowledge, wisdom”), obìa (“doctor, healer”). Cognate of Aukan obiya, Saramaccan obia, and Sranan Tongo obia.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"A magician or witch doctor of the magic craft.",
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"To bewitch using this kind of folk magic."
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