powwower

English

Alternative forms

• pow-wower

Etymology

From powwow +‎ -er.

Noun

powwower (plural powwowers)

1. One who powwows.
   • 1820 April, “Indian Manners and Customs. From the manuscript of Mr. William Wells.”, in The Western Review and Miscellaneous Magazine, a Monthly Publication, Devoted to Literature and Science, volume II, number 3, Lexington, Ky.: […] William Gibbes Hunt, page 163:

     The Powwowers or Priests were formerly in high estimation, as it is believed that they are the agents of the different powers, or great spirits that govern the universe, and that they have power to kill or cure as they think proper.

   • 1877, The Rev. Samuel Peters’ LL. D. General History of Connecticut, from Its First Settlement Under George Fenwick to Its Latest Period of Amity with Great Britain Prior to the Revolution; […], New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton and Company, […], page 165:

     The inhabitants were struck with wonder at this event, and held a conference to discover the reason why the devils and the powwowers had obeyed the prayers of one minister, and had paid no regard to those of fifty.

   • 2007, David W. Kriebel, “Powwow Ritual: Structure and Performance”, in Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World, University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University Press, →ISBN, page 65:

     All the while, the powwower is speaking subvocally so that the patient cannot hear what he or she is saying, even when the powwower’s lips are inches away from the patient’s ears.