loa
/ˈloʊ̯ə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.90 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings.
noun
noun
Initialism of length over all, the length of a ship's hull without attachments.
noun
Example Sentences
- "Here, on the Island Below the Sea, the loa have their permanent residence, their primal location."
- "Some will caution you at great length about the dangers of Vodou. They will tell you that the lwa are jealous, thin-skinned, and hot-tempered."
- "Equally surprising is to find St Patrick so prominent in many Vodou shrines, until one remembers that he too had been a slave who had twice crossed the sea, the second time to freedom, and that he had particular power over snakes, like the loa (Haitian equivalent of orisha) Dambala Wèdo."
- "But in the end, nothing says as much about a yacht, or its owner, as the delicate matter of L.O.A.—length over all."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈloʊ̯ə/
- British English: /ˈləʊ̯ə/
Usage
- American usage
- Countable
- Uncountable