kachina doll

[ kuh-chee-nuh ]

noun

1. a Hopi Indian doll carved from cottonwood root in representation of a kachina and given as a gift to a child or used as a household decoration.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kachina doll¹

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50

Example Sentences

Indeed, for all her Christian charity, Leigh Anne seems to treat her adopted son more like a giant kachina doll than a human being.

From Los Angeles Times

An area devoted to fantasies of the primitive includes prints by Max Beckmann, Picasso, Keith Haring and Jackson Pollock, along with a painting by Paul Klee and a kachina doll.

From New York Times