loa

Noun (1)

loa (plural loas or loa)

1. In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings.
   • Here, on the Island Below the Sea, the loa have their permanent residence, their primal location.1953, Maya Deren, Divine Horsemen, McPherson & Company, published 2004, page 36
   • Some will caution you at great length about the dangers of Vodou. They will tell you that the lwa are jealous, thin-skinned, and hot-tempered.2007, Kevin Filan, The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Destiny Books, page 3

Noun (2) capitalized: LOA

LOA (plural LOAs)

1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of leave of absence.
2. (US, abbreviation, initialism, letter) Initialism of letter of appreciation.
3. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of length over all, the length of a ship's hull without attachments.
   • But in the end, nothing says as much about a yacht, or its owner, as the delicate matter of L.O.A.—length over all.2022 July 18, Evan Osnos, “The Haves and the Have-Yachts”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN, archived from the original on 30 Jul 2022
4. (New-Age, abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of law of attraction.

Proper noun capitalized: Loa

UK/ˈləʊ.ə/US/ˈloʊ.ə/

Loa (countable and uncountable, plural Loas)

1. A surname.
2. A town, the county seat of Wayne County, Utah, United States.