manitou

From Pidgin Delaware Manétto, from Unami manëtu (/manətːu/) and Munsee manutoow (manə́to꞉w) (later influenced by French manitou, from Cree/Montagnais manito꞉w); from Proto-Algonquian *maneto·wa (“supernatural being”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmanɪtuː/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

manitou (plural manitous)

1. A god or spirit as the object of religious awe or ritual among some American Indians.
   • 1819, Washington Irving, The Sketch Book, Rip Van Winkle:

     The favourite abode of this Manitou is still shown. It is a great rock or cliff on the loneliest part of the mountains, and, … is known by the name of the Garden Rock.

   • 1826, James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, published 1888, page 319:

     If it were possible to translate the comprehensive and melodious language in which he spoke, the ode might read something like the following: "Manitou! Manitou! Manitou! Thou art great, thou art good, thou art wise: Manitou! Manitou! Thou art just."

   • 1987, John A Grim, The Shaman, page 143:

     Each Ojibway shaman's method of communication with the manitou patron is unique and is related to a personal dream experience.

   • 2005, Joseph Boyden, Three Day Road, Penguin, published 2008, page 43:

     My father strung it high in a tree for the manitous to watch over.

Sometimes used as a proper noun, in which case it is often capitalized.

• Oxford English Dictionary, Third (online) Edition

• tinamou

From Cree/Montagnais manito꞉w, Ojibwe manidoo, from Proto-Algonquian *maneto·wa (“supernatural being”).

• IPA^(key): /ma.ni.tu/

• Audio

  (file)

manitou m (plural manitous)

1. manitou

• “manitou”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• tinamou