# wendigo

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwɛndɪɡəʊ/ · frequency rank #80,111

## Definitions
1. A malevolent and violent cannibal spirit found in Anishinaabe, Ojibwe, and Cree mythology, which is said to inhabit the body of a living person and possess him or her to commit murder.
2. Synonym of splake (“kind of hybrid fish”).

## Etymology
Borrowed from Ojibwe wiindigoo, from Proto-Algonquian *wi·nteko·wa (“owl; malevolent spirit, cannibalistic monster”). Compare Plains Cree wîhtikow, ᐃᐧᐦᑎᑯᐤ (“greedy person; cannibal; giant man-eating monster”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wendigo