Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Unintelligible or incomprehensible language; gibberish.
- noun Language or ritualistic activity intended to confuse.
- noun A complicated or obscure ritual.
- noun An object believed to have supernatural powers; a fetish.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Among the Mandingos of the western Sudan, a bugbear by means of which the women are terrified and disciplined by societies of the men, one of whom assumes a masquerade for the purpose; hence, loosely, any Negro idol, fetish, or bugaboo.
- noun An object of superstitious homage and fear.
- noun Incomprehensible or senseless language, usually intended to avoid answering plainly, confuse a listener, or obscure an issue.
- noun Language so arcane or obscure as to be unintelligible to the listener.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun historical A
deity or other supernatural being said to have been worshipped by certain West African peoples; an idol. - noun religion Any object of
superstition ; religious words and/or actions which are seen as superstitious or fraudulent. - noun Any confusing or meaningless speech;
nonsense ,gibberish .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun language or ritual causing, or intending to cause, confusion
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From Mumbo-Jumbo, masked dancer described in 18th-century European accounts of the Mandinka, probably from Mandinka maamajomboo, masked dancer with prophetic powers : maama, term of address for a masked dancer + jomboo, ceremony of opening or first use.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Probably from Mandinka maamajomboo ("mask; masked dancer"). What might be possible as well is the occurance of l-vocalization in the words "mumble" and "jumble".
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Examples
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avivamagnolia commented on the word mumbo jumbo
=A masked figure among Mandingo peoples of western Africa
=An object of superstitious homage and fear
=A complicated often ritualistic observance with elaborate trappings
=Complicated activity or language usually intended to obscure and confuse
=Unnecessarily involved and incomprehensible language : gibberish
=Language, behavior, or beliefs based on superstition
January 19, 2009
bilby commented on the word mumbo jumbo
Woohoo, acrostic stepladder!
July 29, 2009