tagati

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noun

In South African English, a wizard, witch, or a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others or who uses poisons and familiar spirits to carry out harmful deeds.

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Meanings

nountagati (uncountable)
  1. uncountableIn South African English, a wizard, witch, or a spiteful person who operates in secret to harm others or who uses poisons and familiar spirits to carry out harmful deeds.

    No, the average Bantu always had a dilemma; live with the wild tribes and never know when some witchdoctor's tagati would strike him down; or live with the umlungus and respect his authority (and his sjambok).

    1992, Colin Bender, Makapan odyssey, page 166

Origin

The term is first recorded in 1836; it derives from the Zulu word umthakathi, being someone who mixes medicine, which itself comes from the Zulu thaka (mix) and muthi (medicine). The term has gradually come to be used to refer only to negative, harmful uses of medicines derived from plants, animals and minerals.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tagati. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tagati

MLA

“tagati.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tagati. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tagati,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tagati.

Source: tagati on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.