巫

巫 (Kangxi radical 48, 工+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 一人人 (MOO), four-corner 1010₈, composition ⿻工从)

• 𭇹, 𡷯, 𢃀, 𭰘, 𭸊, 𬂳, 𦈊, 誣(诬), 𬋲
• 覡(觋), 𨿏, 鵐(鹀), 莁, 筮, 毉, 𪚠, 靈, 𠳄, 𡋻, 𢀣, 𧨈, 𭏞, 𨽙, 𨽭, 𭩗, 𥽛, 𬝶, 𧈀

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 325, character 19
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8728
• Dae Jaweon: page 629, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 412, character 8
• Unihan data for U+5DEB

Historical forms of the character 巫
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States		Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)		Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Ancient script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Pictogram (象形) – originally two pieces of jade crossed over each other as used in ancient shamanistic practices. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Glyph origin from Chinese Wiktionary”)

“shaman; witch”

This word initially referred to spirit medium/shaman of either sex, but eventually female when contrasted with 覡 (OC *ɡeːɡ, “male shaman”). Various hypotheses exist regarding its etymology (Schuessler, 2007):

1. Cognate with Tibetan འབའ་པོ ('ba' po, “magician, sorcerer”), འབའ་མོ ('ba' mo, “sorceress”).
2. Cognate with 誣 (OC *ma, “to deceive”).
3. Cognate with 舞 (OC *maʔ, “to dance”).
4. Cognate with 母 (OC *mɯʔ, “female”).
5. Victor Mair (1990) and Jao Tsung-I (1990) proposed that this is a loanword from Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁 (maguš) (more at Wikipedia: Magus). (Mair, 1990; Mair, 2012).

Thai หมอ (mɔ̌ɔ, “doctor”) < Proto-Tai *ʰmo:ᴬ (“shaman”) is generally assumed to be a Sino-Tibetan loan (Pittayaporn, 2014). More at Wu (shaman), Magi#In Chinese sources, magus.

“Malay”

Clipping of 巫來由／巫来由 (wūláiyóu), a transcription of Malay Melayu.

巫

1. shaman; witch; sorcerer; wizard
2. witch doctor
3. (chiefly Malaysia, Singapore) Malay; Melayu; relating to ethnic Malays

   巫統／巫统  ―  wūtǒng  ―  United Malays National Organisation, UMNO

4. a surname

• → English: wu

• “巫”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

1. shaman
2. witch, sorcerer

• Go-on: む (mu)
• Kan-on: ぶ (bu)
• Kan’yō-on: ふ (fu)
• Kun: みこ (miko, 巫); かんなぎ (kannagi, 巫)

This is the only kanji added to the jinmeiyō kanji list on 7 January 2015 by the Japanese government; previously classified as hyōgaiji.

/kamunaɡi/ → /kaɴnaɡi/

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 神 (kamu, “god, spirit”) +‎ 和ぎ (nagi, “calming, calming down”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 和ぐ (nagu, “to become calm, to become quiet”).[1]

• IPA^(key): [kã̠nːa̠ɡʲi]

巫(かんなぎ) • (kannagi) 

1. (archaic) a medium or shaman, usually female, who acts as a medium between humans and the spirits or gods, helping to communicate between the two and to calm any supernatural or spiritual upset

   Synonyms: 巫女 (miko), 神子 (kanko)

/kamunaɡi/ → /kaũnaɡi/ → /kaunaɡi/ → /kɔːnaɡi/ → /koːnaɡi/

Shift in pronunciation of the 神 (kamu) element, similar to the pattern seen in terms such as 神戸 (“Kōbe”).[1]

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ːna̠ɡʲi]

巫(こうなぎ) • (kōnagi) ^{←かうなぎ (kaunagi)?}

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) a medium or shaman, usually female, who acts as a medium between humans and the spirits or gods, helping to communicate between the two and to calm any supernatural or spiritual upset

From Middle Chinese 巫 (MC mju). Recorded as Middle Korean 무 (mwu) (Yale: mwu) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Wikisource 巫 (eumhun 무당 무 (mudang mu))

1. Hanja form^? of 무 (“shaman; something related to shamanism”).

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

巫: Hán Việt readings: vu

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.