windigo

[win-di-goh]

noun

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

2. 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.

windigo

/ ˈwɪndɪˌɡəʊ /

noun

1. a variant of wendigo

Word History and Origins

Origin of windigo¹

First recorded in 1705–15; from Ojibwe wi·ntiko·; cognate with Cree wi·htiko·w

Example Sentences

“Those who listen to the Windigo song aren’t bad people,” Gardner said.

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The wind churned snow across the prairies, so Dr. Carson Gardner, the medical director of White Earth Nation’s health department, told the tale of the Windigo as a metaphor for addiction.

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The Windigo is a cannibal that sings a song, and anyone who hears it must cover their ears and run away, he said.

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But what happened is, people tend to get what we call windigo sickness.

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The windigo is this really terrifying cannibal spirit that as it gets bigger, it wants more, it wants more.

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