medicine man

Etymology

Probably a calque of Ojibwe mashkikiiwinini (“doctor”), from mashkiki (“medicine”) +‎ inini (“man”).

Noun

medicine man (plural medicine men)

1. A Native American shamanistic healer.

   Hypernym: shaman

   Hyponym: (Navajos) hataalii

   • 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha‎, section XIV:

     And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets,
     The Wabenos, the Magicians,
     And the Medicine-men, the Medas,
     Painted upon bark and deer-skin
     Figures for the songs they chanted

   • 1891, W. Fletcher Johnson, Life of Sitting Bull and History of the Indian War of 1890-’91‎, Edgewood Publishing Co., page 41:

     Sitting Bull is commonly thought of as a warrior. In point of fact he was not. He was a “medicine man;” which means that he included within himself the three professions of the priesthood, medicine and law.

2. A traditional healer among other indigenous or ancient peoples.
   • 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 254:

     When, however, the plant spirits were not strong enough in themselves, then the family called in the Medicine Man. He appeared, a "monster of so frightful mien", with noise making apparatus which produced such a terrifying din that even the hardiest demon was likely to flee.

   • 1943, H. Lorna Bingham, The Lost Tribe, Sydney: Winn and Co., page 11, column 1:

     "I'm sorry kiddies," he said, "but I haven't very much faith in Medicine Men."

   • 1958, Chinua Achebe, chapter 9, in Things Fall Apart, New York: Astor-Honor, published 1959:

     After the death of Ekwefi's second child, Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man, who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle, to enquire what was amiss.

3. The pitchman at a medicine show
   • 1942 September 19, “Van Cleve Shows Pix Under Canvas On Coast”, in Billboard‎, volume 54, number 37, page 26:

     One of the most successful of the tent road-showmen is Dr. J. Van Cleve, old-time medicine man, who operates out of Portland. Van Cleve pitches his tent for a week and shows a different film program each night combined with a vaude show.

   • 1991, Quentin J. Schultze, Televangelism and American Culture; The Business of Popular Religion‎, Baker Book House, →ISBN, page 128:

     the medicine man offered free entertainment in exchange for an opportunity to sell hope to a nation of individually troubled people.