Voodooists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who practice a religion characterized by magical beliefs and rituals, often aimed at healing or spiritual guidance
2. Practitioners who engage in traditional customs that may involve invocation of spirits and use of symbolic objects for various purposes
3. People who adhere to the voodoo faith, performing rituals linked to spirituality and spirit communication

Etymology: "Voodooists" is the plural of "voodooist," a noun for a practitioner of voodoo. The plural simply adds the plural ending to that base form, so the history lies in the word it is built on. "Voodooist" combines "voodoo," the name of the Afro-Caribbean religious tradition, with the suffix "-ist," which in English forms nouns for people who practise or adhere to something, as in "novelist" or "theorist." Because "voodoo" itself carries the history, the suffix contributes only the sense of a person who follows the practice. "Voodooist" thus names a participant in the tradition rather than the tradition itself, a distinction the bare noun "voodoo" does not make.

Synonyms: practitioners, followers, adepts, devotees, believers