orenda

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orenda

/ɔˈɹɛn.də/
/oʊˈɹɛn.də/

Rhymes with -ɛndə

Where it comes from

Supposedly coined in 1902 by American ethnologist John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt using a Wyandot (Iroquoian) cognate to Mohawk orę́·naʔ (“inherent power”).

noun

uncountable A mystical power thought by the Iroquois to pervade all things. In the Handbook of American Indians, Alice Fletcher describes the Iroquois conception of orenda as "a fictive force, principle, or magic power"

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MLA

"orenda." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/orenda. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

orenda. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/orenda

Chicago

"orenda." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/orenda.

BibTeX

@misc{orenda_2026,
  title = {orenda},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/orenda},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}