mojo

See also: Mojo, mojó, mójo, and моё

English

Etymology 1

Probably of Creole origin, cognate with Gullah moco (“witchcraft”), Fula moco'o (“medicine man”). The origin of the drug sense is uncertain, possibly related to Spanish mojar (“to toast (celebrate with a drink)”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊd͡ʒoʊ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈməʊd͡ʒəʊ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊdʒəʊ

Noun

mojo (countable and uncountable, plural mojos or mojoes)

1. (countable) A magic spell or hex.
2. (countable) An object (such as a charm or amulet) used to cast magic spells, especially in hoodoo.
   • 1991 July/August, Shelby Foote, “When Robert Johnson Sings”, in American Heritage‎^[1], volume 42, number 4:

     A doney, for instance, is a woman of worse than doubtful morals, and a nation sack is a cloth pouch worn on a string around the neck for holding mojos and small change.

3. (uncountable) Spellcraft, hoodoo.
4. (informal) Supernatural skill; exceptional luck, success, or power.
   • 2022 February 12, Danny Westneat, “The reason voters see past the terrible headlines with Seattle schools”, in The Seattle Times‎^[2]:

     I haven’t seen much mojo in the state Legislature for that or any other major intervention, though. Hey, lawmakers, you should check out the test scores for your own school districts. It might be yours are needing some help, too, maybe even more so than Seattle.

5. (slang) Personal magnetism; charm.
6. (slang) Sex appeal; sex drive.

   Look at the way the chicks are checking out Daniel on the dancefloor. He's still got plenty of mojo.

   After the pandemic closed down the discos, I stopped socializing and have lost my mojo.

7. (slang) An illegal drug, especially morphine or other narcotics.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:recreational drug

8. (slang, usually with "wire") A telecopier; a fax machine.

Translations

magic charm or spell

• German: Magie (de) f, Zauber (de) m
• Hungarian: varázslat (hu), mágia (hu), (words) varázsige (hu), (object) amulett (hu)
• Portuguese: mágica (pt), magia (pt)
• Spanish: magia (es) f, encanto (es) m

supernatural skill or luck

• Hungarian: varázserő (hu), bűverő (hu)

personal magnetism; charm

• German: Charme (de) m
• Hungarian: vonzerő (hu)

sex appeal; sex drive

• Hungarian: szexepil (hu), csáberő (hu), vonzerő (hu)

illegal drugs

• Hungarian: kábítószer (hu), narkó (hu), anyag (hu), fű (hu)

fax machine

• Hungarian: faxgép, fax (hu)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish mojo.

Noun

mojo (countable and uncountable, plural mojos)

1. Any of various sauces originating in the Canary Islands and made with olive oil, peppers, garlic, paprika, and other spices.
   • 2021 November 8, Tejal Rao, “Sidesgiving”, in The New York Times‎^[3]:

     I know I want one more satisfying starch, and I’m debating between Yewande Komolafe’s plantains with beans and Von Diaz’s yuca coated in a warm, garlicky mojo.

Etymology 3

Noun

mojo (plural mojos)

1. Alternative form of moio (“Portuguese dry measure”)

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “mojo n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• JOMO, Jomo, jomo

Japanese

Romanization

mojo

1. Rōmaji transcription of もじょ

Lower Sorbian

Determiner

mojo

1. Superseded spelling of mójo.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmoxo/ [ˈmo.xo]
• Rhymes: -oxo
• Syllabification: mo‧jo

Etymology 1

Deverbal from mojar.

Noun

mojo m (plural mojos)

1. a type of spicy red sauce from the Canary Islands made from chilli, oil, vinegar, garlic, and cumin

Alternative forms

• moje

Derived terms

• mojito

 

Etymology 2

Verb

mojo

1. first-person singular present indicative of mojar

Further reading

• “mojo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Venetian

Alternative forms

• mójo

Adjective

mojo (feminine singular moja, masculine plural moji, feminine plural moje)

1. wet
2. soaked

Related terms

• mojar