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PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD

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BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYmw-shaman

SOURCE
RECORD.

One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.

CLAIM-LEVEL USAGE

7 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.

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historical dictionarymw-shaman

Shaman — Word History

AUTHOR / EDITOR
Merriam-Webster Editors
YEAR
2026
PUBLISHER
Merriam-Webster
DOI
Not recorded
SOURCE TYPE
historical dictionary
EXTERNAL RECORD
OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
2CANONICAL EDGES
1WITNESSES
0COMPARISONS
0CONTEXT LINKS
1RANKED REVEALS
1DISPUTES
2JOURNEY STAGES
1WORD DOSSIERS
01

CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS

RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

1
02

SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT

DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

1
03

CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS

EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

2
EDGE 340supportsestablished

shaman → šamān

Present-Day English → Evenki · borrowing via competing routes

SOUND
English shaman is ultimately from Evenki šamān; Russian and German mediation are historically discussed, but one fully specified immediate chain is not forced into this edge.
MEANING
A specific Siberian practitioner name was generalized in European scholarship across diverse traditions.
SCHOLAR / EDITOR
Merriam-Webster Editors · Andrei A. Znamenski
Word History — ultimately Evenki šamān; First Known Use

Identifies the ultimate source and reports English use in 1698.

OPEN THE PERMANENT CLAIM ↗
EDGE 342contextspeculative

šamān → śramaṇa

Evenki → Sanskrit · proposed borrowing

SOUND
A line of argument compares Evenki šamān with Sanskrit śramaṇa through documented Central Asian reflexes, but the exact transmission and sound history into Tungusic are not demonstrated.
MEANING
A Buddhist ascetic or monk term is proposed as the source of a Tungusic ritual-specialist word.
SCHOLAR / EDITOR
Peter Zieme and prior scholars reviewed by him
Word History — ultimately Evenki šamān

The English dictionary’s secure trail stops at Evenki.

OPEN THE PERMANENT CLAIM ↗
04

LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS

WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE

1
shamanSOURCE-REPORTED

shaman

English lexicographic first-use record for shaman

OPEN WITNESS 79 ↗
05

COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE

COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES

0
No comparative-relative record currently cites this source.
06

GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS

JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

2
07

NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS

HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE

0
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
08

WORD-FAMILY REUSE

DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE

1
shaman6 CLAIM LINKS↗

1 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.