medicine, noun

Origin:
EnglishShow more Special senses of general English.
1. muti sense 2 a.
Note:
‘Medicine’ is used also by the indigenous peoples of North America in this sense.
1890 Cape Law Jrnl VII. 231All of us who can afford it are provided with a medicine which is supposed to bring good luck, and preserve the family from misfortune; and in cases such as the one in which we were engaged the medicine (piece of root) is kept in the mouth and carefully chewed while the case is going on.
1904 D. Kidd Essential Kafir 174The diviner is supposed to be bound to find not only the culprit but also the magic medicine used. He will then grub some hairs from a cow’s tail, and declare that these were the bewitching medicines which were used.
1957 A.A. Murray Blanket 70‘The medicine,’ Phiri repeated, and his voice shook with horror.
1964 R. Owen in Capricorn High School Mag. 69We could not stop in the towns, for the Bantu pulled out the hairs of his (sc. the giraffe’s) legs for ‘medicine’.
1991 J. Pauw In Heart of Whore 44To obtain the goodwill of the witch doctors, he visited the Kruger National Park and obtained animal material that they needed for their medicine...Criminals would visit the witch doctors for medicine for protection.
2. combinations
medicine boy, the bearer of a container of this medicine;
medicine horn, a container, usually a horn, containing medicine supposed to guarantee the prosperity of a people;
medicine man, a herbalist or sorcerer;
medicine murder, ritual killing (see ritual).
1907 W.C. Scully By Veldt & Kopje 71The Chief, accompanied by his ‘isicake se ’nkosi,’ or ‘medicine boy,’ now stalked majestically forward. The ‘medicine boy’ lifted the pot and carried it slowly into the large kraal.
1957 A.A. Murray Blanket 147Then the medicine horn. Had he ever seen this medicine horn? What knowledge had he that it had been filled with medicine brewed from his brother’s flesh?
1968 A. Fulton Dark Side of Mercy 27The ancient medicine horns had grown feeble with the passage of time. No longer could they protect the clan against the scheming of malevolent spirits nor thwart the spells of the enemies...A new medicine horn must be prepared without delay and it would require as one of its ingredients the blood and flesh of a young and fertile woman, preferably heavy with child.
1951 R. Griffiths Grey about Flame 108Medicine men wove spells to bring the rain.
1972 Daily Dispatch 4 Aug. 2The farmer sacked him for insolence. Khotso..told his fellows he was a strong medicine man and they should see what happened to the farm. ‘It so happened a cyclone hit the farm..and that established Khotso as a medicine man,’ Mrs Lamb said.
1988 J. Khumalo in Pace June 7The missionaries..lumped the unfortunate traditional medicine man with some derogatory names.
1952 Drum Apr. 25The murders are not part of a ritual, and they should really be called diretlo, or medicine murders.
1957 A.A. Murray Blanket 36Maburu is to be the victim of a medicine murder?
1983 D. Ambrose InformantLiretlo. A better definition is ‘medicine murder’.
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medem, nounn.medora, nounn.
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