Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tagati

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
tagati
IPA
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

In South African English, a wizard, witch, or a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others or who uses poisons and familiar spirits to carry out harmful deeds.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

The term is first recorded in 1836; it derives from the Zulu word umthakathi, being someone who mixes medicine, which itself comes from the Zulu thaka (mix) and muthi (medicine). The term has gradually come to be used to refer only to negative, harmful uses of medicines derived from plants, animals and minerals.

Usage

Questions

What does tagati mean?
In South African English, a wizard, witch, or a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others or who uses poisons and familiar spirits to carry out harmful deeds.
Where does tagati come from?
The term is first recorded in 1836; it derives from the Zulu word umthakathi, being someone who mixes medicine, which itself comes from the Zulu thaka (mix) and muthi (medicine). The term has gradually come to be used to refer only to negative, harmful uses of medicines derived from plants, animals and minerals.

How to pronounce tagati

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tagati”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tagati”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tagati” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.