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juju. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
juju, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
juju in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
juju you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From a West African language, probably originally from French joujou.
Noun
juju (countable and uncountable, plural jujus)
- (countable) A fetish or charm believed by West Africans to have magical or supernatural powers.
1976 March 27, F. Dudley Hart, “History of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis”, in British Medical Journal, volume 1, number 6012, →DOI, →JSTOR, page 763:Pendants round the neck, bangles round the wrists or ankles, potatoes or nutmegs in the pocket are as old or older than civilisation, carrying the same prophylactic magic as any juju in an African witchdoctor's armamentarium.
- (uncountable) The magical or supernatural power of such a charm.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 168:They are believed to be "Ju-Ju" or were-leopards, and in this guise to roam through the forest in bands, bent on evil and destruction.
2010, Jennifer Egan, “Selling the General”, in A Visit from the Goon Squad:The party had nominal hosts, all famous, but the real hostess, as everyone knew, was La Doll, who had more connections and access and juju than all of those people combined.
2018, Mark Fisher, “it doesn't matter if we all die: the cure's unholy trinity”, in Darren Ambrose, editor, K-punk: the collected and unpublished writings of Mark Fisher (2004–2016), London: Repeater Books, →ISBN:The blues juju—or jou-jou—relies upon the enjoyment of desires that cannot be satisfied.
- (informal) The (usually negative) karmic consequences of an action or behavior.
That's some bad juju.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Reduplication of -ju- in marijuana.
Noun
juju (plural jujus)
- (slang) A marijuana cigarette; a joint.
1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 75:‘I knew a guy once who smoked jujus,’ she said. ‘Three highballs and three sticks of tea and it took a pipe wrench to get him off the chandelier.’
Etymology 3
Noun
juju (uncountable)
- Synonym of jùjú (“music genre”)
Finnish
Etymology
Originally a slang term, from English juju.
Pronunciation
Noun
juju (colloquial)
- catch, hitch, snag, kicker (problem or unexpected difficulty in a deal, negotiation or task)
Kuulostaa hyvältä idealta, mutta mikä on homman juju?- It sounds like a great idea, but what's the catch?
- trick (effective, clever or quick way of doing something, the "secret")
Homman juju on laskea kortit tarkasti.- The trick of it is to count the cards carefully.
Declension
Derived terms
References
- ^ Forsberg, Ulla-Maija (2021) Stadin slangin etymologinen sanakirja [Etymological Dictionary of Helsinki Slang] (in Finnish) (online version; note: also includes other etymological sources), Helsinki: Gaudeamus, →ISBN
Further reading
Panyjima
Noun
juju
- Old man.
Synonyms
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Noun
juju m (plural jujus)
- (Brazil, colloquial) Synonym of juliet
Spanish
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Compare such expressive terms as English hoo-ha.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈxuxu/
- Rhymes: -uxu
- Syllabification: ju‧ju
Noun
juju f (plural jujus)
- (Spain, slang) pussy, cunt, snatch (vagina)