grigri

American

[gree-gree] / ˈgri gri /

Or greegree,

noun

plural

grigris

an African charm, amulet, or fetish.

grigri British

/ ˈɡriːɡriː /

noun

an African talisman, amulet, or charm

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of grigri

First recorded in 1755–65, grigri is from the French word gris-gris, grigri, first recorded in West Africa in 1557; origin obscure

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The word grigri, also of African origin, simply refers to a charm, which may be used for an innocent or innocuous purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

The amulets or charms, called "grigris" by the African priests, are of similar 170description.

From Project Gutenberg

An essential article, hung round the neck or slung to the body, is the grigri, ta'awíz, or talisman, a Koranic verse or a magic diagram enclosed in a leathern roll or in a flat square.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus, in a Louisiana Creole song, we find a quadroon mother promising her daughter a charm to prevent the white lover from forsaking her: "Pou tchomb� li na f� grigri."

From Project Gutenberg

"We shall make a grigri to keep him."

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023