gris-gris

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.32 in modern English

Scrabble Score

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Meaning

noun

"A horn, or rude image, is sometimes made use of as a means of preserving the medicines of defense, and is worn as an amulet. These images, horns, or other articles, called greegrees, or jeujeus, are not held sacred for a moment after the medicine is found to have lost its power […]."
"The Bambara were not Muslim, but they knew how to make gris-gris."

Unknown. Compare juju (“a fetish or charm”); compare also Mande gerregery or Mandingo gregory, an amulet or curse-object.

greegree (alternative) gri-gri (alternative) grigri (alternative) grisgris (alternative)

conjuration conjure hoodoo

Questions

What does gris-gris mean?

An African, or Afro-American, charm or talisman.

Where does gris-gris come from?

Unknown. Compare juju (“a fetish or charm”); compare also Mande gerregery or Mandingo gregory, an amulet or curse-object.

How to pronounce gris-gris

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