: any of a class of musician-entertainers of western Africa whose performances include tribal histories and genealogies
broadly
: storyteller
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An African tribal storyteller and musician is called a griot. The griot’s role was to preserve the genealogies and oral traditions of the tribe. They were usually among the oldest men in a tribe. In places where written language is the privilege of the few, the place of the griot as cultural guardian is still maintained. In Senegal, for example, the griot—without resorting to fantasy—recites poems or tells stories of warriors, drawing on his own sources of inspiration.
Examples of griot in a Sentence
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The story of Kaabu's royalty and reign has been told for generations through the songs of griots.
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Ari Daniel, NPR, 27 Apr. 2025
Music is both the subject and mechanism of Sinners, which opens with a voiceover history of how some musicians, dating back to the West African griots, have been seen as conduits between this world and the one beyond.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2025
President Moussa Traoré’s twenty-three-year military regime from 1968 to 1991 favored the voices of the griots.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2021
But that’s not the case, and as the opening prologue showcases, the Irish have their own form of griots, the filidh, poets, and oral history keepers who were successors to the druids.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025
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Ari Daniel, NPR, 27 Apr. 2025
Music is both the subject and mechanism of Sinners, which opens with a voiceover history of how some musicians, dating back to the West African griots, have been seen as conduits between this world and the one beyond.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2025
President Moussa Traoré’s twenty-three-year military regime from 1968 to 1991 favored the voices of the griots.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2021
But that’s not the case, and as the opening prologue showcases, the Irish have their own form of griots, the filidh, poets, and oral history keepers who were successors to the druids.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for griot
Cite this Entry
“Griot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/griot. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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griot
noun
gri·ot
ˈgrē-ˌō 
: any of a class of musician-entertainers of western Africa whose performances include tribal histories and genealogies
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