shaman

Meaning

1. A traditional faith healer.
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.

Synonyms

medicine man

sorcerer

wizard

witch

healer

doctor

🧑‍⚕️

witch doctor

priest-doctor

traditional healer

wise man

wise woman

faith healer

arbitrator

sangoma

diviner

elder

magician

medicine-man

mystic

pagan

priest

seer

Translations

sciamano

chaman

Schamane

chamán

brujo

xamã

xaman

şaman

sjamaan

σαμάνος

curandero

Priester

Medizinmann

priester-tovenaar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʃɑːmən/

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.