mãe-de-santo

noun

A priestess of an Afro-Brazilian religion.

OriginPortuguese mãe-de-santo ← Yoruba ìyálórìṣà →
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Meanings

nounmãe-de-santo (plural mães-de-santo or mãe-de-santos)

plural mães-de-santo · plural mãe-de-santos

  1. A priestess of an Afro-Brazilian religion.

    His mãe-de-santo, however, insisted that this was the spirit who was taking possession of his body.

    2011, Mattijs van de Port, Ecstatic Encounters, page 197
    1 more example

    The imprecations of the mãe-de-santo filled the night more than the sound of the different drums that were soothing Ogun.

    1988, Jorge Amado, translated by Gregory Rabassa, Captains of the Sands, Penguin, published 2013, page 87

Origin

  1. Yorubaìyálórìṣà
  2. Portuguesemãe-de-santo
  3. Englishmãe-de-santo

From Portuguese mãe-de-santo, translating Yoruba ìyálórìṣà.

More words from Portuguese, Yoruba

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mãe-de-santo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/m%C3%A3e-de-santo

MLA

“mãe-de-santo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/m%C3%A3e-de-santo. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mãe-de-santo,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/m%C3%A3e-de-santo.

Source: mãe-de-santo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.