Ouija

noun
/ˈwiːd͡ʒə/

Etymology

The popular belief that the word came from French oui (“yes”) + German ja (“yes”) is a misconception. The name is taken from a word spelled out on the board when it was asked to name itself by Helen Peters, sister-in-law of Kennard Company investor Elijah Bond. It is noted in personal letters that Ouija was the name of a woman in a painting above her head at the time, who it is speculated may have in fact been Ouida.

Definitions

  1. A board, having letters of the alphabet and the words yes and no

    A board, having letters of the alphabet and the words yes and no; used with a planchette during a seance to "communicate" with spirits.

  2. The use of such a board to attempt to communicate with spirits.

  3. Alternative letter-case form of Ouija.

    • Mediums — tipping tables — ouijas — all that sort of thing.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for Ouija. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA