orisha

British

/ əˈrɪʃə /

noun

any of the minor gods or spirits of traditional Yoruba religion and its S American and Caribbean offshoots such as Santeria and Candomblé

"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 orisha

from Yoruba orisha and the Portuguese spelling orixá

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 offering was for Ochún: the Lucumí orisha, or deity of fresh water, luxury, love, beauty and sweet things.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2025

My identities — black, queer, nonbinary, pansexual, transfeminine, orisha, goddess, dance-educator, daughter, auntie, sister — all those play a huge part in my life.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 23, 2019

This Bessie Award-winning interdisciplinary artist and writer unveils “Oba Qween Baba King Baba,” which is inspired by Whitson’s experience as a child of a preacher and as a current practitioner of the Yoruba orisha tradition.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2019

Photograph: Javier Galeano/AP The orisha spirits kept popping up during my visit.

From The Guardian • Jun. 17, 2015

Oshun say, “I marry some orisha god, then I never want nothing.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

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