bomoh

English

Etymology

Malay bomoh.

Noun

bomoh (plural bomohs)

1. A Malay shaman or witch doctor.
   • 2008, Preeta Samarasan, Evening is the Whole Day, Fourth Estate, page 267:

     “She got one Chinese bomoh giving her black magic.”

Malay

Alternative forms

• bomo, bomor

Etymology

Compare Thai หมอ (mɔ̌ɔ, “shaman, doctor”).

Pronunciation

• (Johor-Selangor) IPA^(key): /bomoh/
• (Riau-Lingga) IPA^(key): /bomʊh/
• Rhymes: -omoh, -moh, -oh

Noun

bomoh (Jawi spelling بوموه, plural bomoh-bomoh, informal 1st possessive bomohku, 2nd possessive bomohmu, 3rd possessive bomohnya)

1. shaman (someone believed to heal through magic)

   Synonyms: belian, dukun, pawang, tabib

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• kebomohan [abstract / locative] (ke-an)
• perbomohan [causative passive + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peR- + -an)
• berbomoh [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• berbomoh-berbomoh [stative / habitual + reduplication] (beR- + redup)

Descendants

• Indonesian: bomoh

Further reading

• “bomoh” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.