Etymologically
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shaman

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈʃæmən/, /ˈʃeɪmən/[1]
  • UK: /ˈʃɑːmən/[1]
  • US: /ˈʃɑːmən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Schamane and partly directly borrowed from Russian шаман (šaman),[2][3][4][5][6] and the OED notes that the German word is recorded first, in the source of the English text of 1698, while the Russian word is first attested later, by 1755.[2] The Russian is from Evenki шама̄н (šamān), also сама̄н (samān),[6] the word in Evenki, one of the Tungusic languages of northern Siberia and Manchuria, which older dictionaries call Tungus.[2][7][8][5] It comes from a Tungusic base shared with Even, Nanai and Manchu.[2] Its further origin is uncertain: it may come from the Evenki root ша- (ša-, “to know”),[1] or, as several dictionaries suggest, from Buddhist vocabulary, perhaps through Tocharian B ṣamāne (“monk”)[9] or Chinese 沙門 (shāmén, “Buddhist monk”),[10][5] from Pali samaṇa (“Buddhist monk”),[8][11] from Sanskrit श्रमण (śramaṇa, “Buddhist ascetic”),[9][8][7] from श्रम (śrama, “exertion, religious exercise”).[8][7] Compare Dutch sjamaan, recorded in 1692, and French chaman, recorded in 1699.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A priest or healer among the peoples of Siberia: 1698, in the English translation of A. Brand's account of a Russian embassy to China.[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

At first the word named the priest-healers of the Tungus and other peoples of northern Asia,[2][10][12] who were believed to reach and influence the world of spirits.[2][4] It was then extended to similar figures elsewhere, especially among Native Americans.[10][11][4] It was used as an adjective from 1780,[2] and since 1927 it has also been used figuratively for a person seen as having special, almost mystical knowledge in some field.[2]

Timeline

  • 1698 – a priest or healer among peoples of Siberia.[2][7][8]
  • 1780 – adjective, of a shaman or shamanism.[2]
  • 1927 – figurative, a person with special or arcane knowledge.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A priest or healer, especially among peoples of northern Asia, believed to contact the spirit world and to cure the sick, discover hidden things and influence events through magic.[8][2][11]
  2. A similar medicine man or woman among other peoples, especially Native Americans.[11][4][10]
  3. A person regarded as having special, almost mystical knowledge or influence in a field: a shaman of the stock market.[2]

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to a shaman or to shamanism.[2][8]

Word family

  • shamanic
  • shamanism
  • sramana

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  12. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press