List of English words of African origin

List of English words of African origin

This is a list of English language words that come from any of the Sub-Saharan African languages. It excludes placenames except where they have become common words.

the wildkid kid= who is crazy wild
*aardvark - Afrikaans word, meaning earth (or ground) pig
*apartheid - Afrikaans policy of separate development/living
*banana - West African, possibly Wolof "banana"
*banjo - probably Bantu "mbanza"
*basenji- breed of dog from the Congo
*biltong - from Afrikaans - "cured meat" (often used in South African English)
*bongo - West African "boungu"
*braai - from Afrikaans - "barbecue" (often used in South African English)
*buckra - from Efik and Ibibio "mbakara" "master" [The Etymology of 'Buckaroo', Julian Mason, American Speech, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Feb., 1960), pp. 51-55, [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-1283(196002)35%3A1%3C51%3ATEO'%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O] ]
*bwana - from swahili
*chachacha possibly from Kimbundu, onomatopoeia for ringing bells or rattles worn around the legs of a female dancers.
*chigger - possibly from Wolof and Yoruba "jiga" "insect")
*chimpanzee - from a Bantu language, possibly Tshiluba "kivili-chimpenze"
*cola - from West African languages (Temne "kola", Mandinka "kolo")
*coffee - disputed; either from the Ethiopian region/Kingdom of Kaffa, where coffee originated, or Arabic "kahwa"
*conga - feminized form of "Congo" through Spanish
*dengue - possibly from Swahili "dinga"
*djembe from West African languages [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/djembe]
*fandango- possibly from the kikongo empire [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1998_April/ai_20925453]
*gnu - from Bushman "!nu" through Hottentot "i-ngu" and Dutch "gnoe"
*goober - possibly from Bantu (Kikongo and Kimbundu "nguba")
*gumbo - from Bantu (Kimbundu "ngombo" meaning "okra")
*indaba - from Xhosa or Zulu languages - 'meeting' (often used in South African English)
*jambalaya possibly from tshiluba
*jamboree possibly from swahili "jambo".
*jazz - from West African languages (Mandinka "jasi", Temne "yas")
*jive - possibly from Wolof "jev"
*jumbo - from Swahili ("jambo" or "jumbe" or from Kongo "nzamba" "elephant")
*juju - Yoruba
*juke, jukebox - possibly from Wolof and Bambara "dzug" through Gullah
*kalimba
*Kwanzaa - from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza", meaning "first fruits".
*kwashiorkor - from Ga language, Coastal Ghana meaning "swollen stomach"
*impala - from Zulu "im-pala"
*lapa - from Sotho languages - "enclosure" or "barbecue area" (often used in South African English)
*macaque - from Bantu "makaku" through Portuguese and French
*mamba - from Zulu or Swahili "mamba"
*mambo - possibly West African through Haitian Creole
*marimba - from Bantu (Kimbundu and Swahili "marimba", "malimba")
*marimbula
*merengue (dance) possibly from Fulani mererek i meaning to shake or quiver
*mumbo jumbo - uncertain West African etymology
*mojo - from Fula "moco'o" "medicine man" through Louisiana Creole French or Gullah
*obeah - from West African (Efik "ubio", Twi "ebayifo")
*okra - from Igbo "ókùrù"
*okapi - from a language in the Congo
*safari - from Swahili "travel", ultimately from Arabic
*samba from an African language through Brazilian Portuguese [http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/samba?view=uk] [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/samba] , [http://www.carnaval.com/cityguides/brazil/rio/sambacult.htm carnaval website]
*sambo - Fula "sambo" meaning "uncle
*sangoma - from Zulu - "traditional healer" (often used in South African English)
*tango - probably from Ibibio "tamgu"
*tsetse - from a Bantu language (Tswana "tsetse", Luhya "tsiisi")
*trek - from Afrikaans - "move" (often used in South African English)
*ubuntu - Bantu languages
*voodoo - from West African languages (Ewe and Fon "vodu" "spirit")
*yam - West African (Fula "nyami", Twi "anyinam")
*zebra - possibly from a language in the Congo
*zombie - Central African (Kikongo "zumbi", Kimbundu "nzambi")

ee also

*List of Spanish words of African origin

References

* [http://www.etymonline.com/ Online Etymology Dictionary]
* [http://jstor.org Common words of african origin-William Megenney, University of California, Riverside]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • List of English words of Dutch origin — This is a list of words of Dutch language origin. However, note that this list does also include some words of which the etymology is uncertain, and that some may have been derived from Middle Low German equivalents instead or as well. Some of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Spanish words of African origin — This is a list of Spanish words of African origin. It is further divided into words that come from Bantu, Berber West African, and words which are known (or thought) to have come from African, but when the exact source is not known. Some of these …   Wikipedia

  • List of English words of Portuguese origin — This is a list of English words potentially borrowed or derived from Portuguese (or Galician Portuguese language: zebra was actually an extinct striped wild horse that lived south of Pontevedra, Galicia and the name was given by explorers because …   Wikipedia

  • List of English words of Afrikaans origin — Words of Afrikaans origin have entered other languages. British English has absorbed Afrikaans words primarily via British soldiers who served in the Boer Wars. Many more words have entered common usage in South African English due to the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of English words of French origin — Great number of words of French origin have entered the English language to the extent that around 30% of its vocabulary is of French origin. It is via French that many Latin words have come to the English language. Most of the French vocabulary… …   Wikipedia

  • List of English words of Persian origin — As Indo European languages, English and Persian have many words of common Proto Indo European origin, and many of these cognate words often have similar forms. Examples of these include: English (Mother) and Persian (Madar), English (Father) and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of English words from indigenous languages of the Americas — This is a list of English language words borrowed from indigenous languages of the Americas, either directly or through intermediate European languages such as Spanish or French. † indicates a link to a definition of the word. It does not cover… …   Wikipedia

  • English words with uncommon properties — For the purposes of this article, any word which has appeared in a recognised general English dictionary published in the 20th century or later is considered a candidate. For interest, some archaic words, non standard words and proper names are… …   Wikipedia

  • List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom — This is a list of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom.* Words with specific American meanings that have different meanings in British English and/or additional meanings common to both dialects (e.g. pants , crib ) are to be found …   Wikipedia

  • English language — English Pronunciation /ˈ …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”