windigo

[ win-di-goh ]

/ ˈwɪn dɪˌgoʊ /

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noun

(in the folklore of the Ojibwe and other Algonquian peoples) a cannibalistic giant, the transformation of a person who has eaten human flesh.

Psychiatry. a culture-specific syndrome occurring primarily among the Ojibwe and other Algonquian peoples and characterized by fever-induced delusions that one is being possessed by a cannibalistic giant.

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Also called witigo.

Origin of windigo

First recorded in1705–15; from Ojibwe wi·ntiko·; cognate with Cree wi·htiko·w

Words nearby windigo

Windham, wind harp, Windhoek, windhover, Windies, windigo, wind indicator, winding, winding drum, winding frame, winding number

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use windigo in a sentence

If he is a real Windigo, it will only do him good by driving out the ice.
La Ronge Journal, 1823|George Nelson
They might overtake him, and if they did, a Windigo could expect no mercy from them.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill
He did not intend that the Windigo should creep on their camp without his knowing it.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill
But we must watch that we are not taken unawares by the evil Windigo.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill

He is a Windigo, in league with the evil one and hungering for human flesh.
The Island of Yellow Sands|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill

British Dictionary definitions for windigo

windigo

/ (ˈwɪndɪˌɡəʊ) /

noun

a variant of wendigo

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