curandero

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish curandero.

Noun

curandero (plural curanderos or curanderoes)

1. A traditional Central American healer.
   • 1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 36:

     It was left for the curandero to work alone, to seek a solution in a stronger source, in some supernatural realm that might break a normal man.

Related terms

• curandera
• curanderismo

See also

• curandero on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish curandero.

Noun

curandero m (plural curanderos)

1. quacksalver, shaman, witch doctor
2. curandero

Further reading

• “curandero”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuɾanˈdeɾo/ [ku.ɾãn̪ˈd̪e.ɾo]
• Rhymes: -eɾo
• Syllabification: cu‧ran‧de‧ro

Noun

curandero m (plural curanderos, feminine curandera, feminine plural curanderas)

1. shaman, witch doctor

   Synonyms: shamán, nahual (Mexico)

2. quack (one who practices medicine without authority)

   Synonym: matasanos

3. healer

   Synonym: sanador

Further reading

• “curandero”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025