medicine-man
Definition
- Noun:
- A tribal healer or shaman: "medicine-man" refers to a person who is believed to have magical powers to cure illnesses, communicate with spirits, and perform rituals, especially in indigenous or traditional societies.
Usage Examples
- (The tribal healer used ritualistic actions to heal.)
- (The shaman serves as both a healer and a cultural authority.)
Advanced Usage
"to consult the medicine-man": to seek healing or guidance from a tribal shaman.
- When the crops failed, the villagers consulted the medicine-man for a rain ceremony. (They asked the shaman for spiritual intervention.)
"medicine-man's powers": the supernatural abilities attributed to such a figure.
- The tribe believed the medicine-man's powers came from the ancestors. (They thought the shaman's abilities were derived from ancestral spirits.)
Variants and Related Words
- Medicine (n): the science or practice of treating illness; also, a substance used for healing.
- Modern medicine has advanced significantly. (Contemporary medical science has progressed.)
- Medicine woman (n): a female equivalent of a medicine-man.
- The medicine woman used herbs to treat wounds. (The female shaman employed plants for healing.)
Synonyms
- Shaman: a person who acts as an intermediary between the natural and spiritual worlds, often using trance and ritual for healing.
- Witch doctor: a term sometimes used (often pejoratively) for a traditional healer who uses magic.
- Healer: a general term for someone who cures illness, whether through spiritual or physical means.
Related Idioms
- "to have the medicine-man's touch": to possess exceptional healing abilities.
- The old herbalist had the medicine-man's touch; she could cure any fever. (She had extraordinary healing skills.)
- "a medicine-man's secret": a closely guarded traditional remedy or ritual.
- The recipe for the potion was a medicine-man's secret, passed down for generations. (The formula was a sacred, inherited knowledge.)