There are stories where children find a doll on the road. They take it home, and then all sorts of problems start in their families. What is one word for such witchy dolls ?
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2 Answers
It's a maumet (mammet, mommet)...
a doll, puppet, scarecrow, or other figure built to resemble a human being.
Obsolete: an idol; a false god.
Etymology from dictionary.com...
C13: from Old French mahomet idol,
literally: the prophet Mohammed, from the belief that his image was worshipped.
It could also be called a gris-gris, particularly in the context of Juju (origin uncertain, but may refer to the French word joujou, which meant "doll" or "plaything").
For an adjectival form,...
"This doll is possessed!"
- influenced or controlled by something (as an evil spirit, a passion, or an idea)
answered Feb 22, 2014 at 14:54
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2Also to back up: poppet - "small human figure used in witchcraft and sorcery," c.1300, early form of puppet (q.v.). - And here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppet– ermanenCommented Feb 22, 2014 at 17:52
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1@Brad: Good point. But it's worth noting that Google Books has 10 times more doll is possessed than doll is cursed. On the other hand, there are 3 times more ring is cursed than ring is possessed. That's because possessed is more appropriate to human or human-like "vessels", whereas cursed can apply to just about anything (even abstracts, such as love, hunger, or ambition). Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 23:40
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1@miercoledi: I did think about words like totem and talisman - they certainly have the advantage of being far more common than maumet/mommet. They're also less "potentially offensive" in their etymology, but (and this may not be unconnected) they don't have very strong negative connotations - so in fact they're both becoming increasingly positive (I think they're getting more and more synonymous with mascot). Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 23:48
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1@miercoledi: I only vaguely knew the word - and then only spelled as mommet, so I had to check Google Books counts to convince myself that maumet was more common. Personally, I'd call such a thing a voodoo doll (or more likely, a doll that was possessed [by an evil spirit]). But OP asked for "one word", so we are where we are. I do think poppet is a bit of a lost cause though - these days it's mainly a term of endearment, especially applied to young children - "Ah! He's such a poppet!". Commented Feb 23, 2014 at 0:22
Those dolls are HAUNTED or ENCHANTED, as in Robert the haunted/enchanted doll.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_the_Doll
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Haunted is usually applied to things which are big enough for "life-size" evil spits (or actual people) to be inside (as in, houses, castles). And enchanted usually has positive connotations, not negative ones. Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 16:05
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@FumbleFingers I urge you to read the link I've posted. Clearly it doesn't quite match your notion of "haunted" and "enchanted".– LouelCommented Feb 22, 2014 at 21:08
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No disrespect, Louel, but I'm a competent native speaker. With words as common as these I'd rather trust my own intuitions than those implied by a badly-written Wikipedia page which is flagged as having "multiple issues". Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 21:14
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And this video proves that native speakers from the US also use "haunted" for things that are not necessarily big enough for "life-size evil spirits (or actual people) to live inside." In this video, they use "haunted" to describe a painting. I'm sure you're familiar with the show Friends--and I hope a competent native speaker like you will find their English up too scratch. youtube.com/watch?v=hnJyTsH5zsg– LouelCommented Feb 22, 2014 at 21:57
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1I think FumbleFingers is correct that haunt properly refers to a spirit inhabiting a place, rather than possessing an item. However, I also think it's common to stretch the meaning to apply to similar things. Thus, something like a haunted painting or doll is understandable and acceptable, but also a bit marked and novel. Commented Feb 22, 2014 at 22:05