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User:Linshee/English words of African origin

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/pared down

  • acha – from Hausa acca. A grass species cultivated in West Africa.
  • goje – from Hausa goge. A one- or two-stringed fiddle made of a gourd or calabash.
  • gerenuk – from Somali garanuug. A long-necked antelope found in the Horn of Africa.
  • adobe – from ḏbt
    Dbbt
    O39
    ("brick, block, ingot"). A building material made of earth or other organic materials.
  • ammonia – from jmn
    imn
    n
    A40
    ("Amun"). A gaseous compound of hydrogen and nitrogen. Named a such because it was first found near a temple of Amun.
  • anise – from jnst
    iK1
    n
    stHn
    Z2
    (probably "anise"). A flowering plant whose seeds are often used as a spice.
  • barge – from bꜣjr
    bbAAy
    r Z1
    P1
    ("transport ship"). A flat-bottomed boat.
  • basalt – from bḫn
    bx
    n
    O39
    ("a hard rock"). A common igneous rock.
  • ebony – from hbnj
    hb
    n
    y
    M3
    ("ebony wood; ebony tree"). A dense black hardwood.
  • gum – from qmyt ("acanthus resin, gum"). A sticky substance.
  • ibis – from hbj
    hbyG26
    ("ibis"). A long-legged wading bird.
  • ivory – from ꜣbw
    Abbwqs
    ("elephant; ivory"). Hard, white material from the tusks of elephants and other animals.
  • lily – from ḥrrt
    Hr
    r
    r
    t
    Hn
    ("flower; blossom"). A common flower.
  • oasis – from wḥꜣt
    wHAt
    N25
    ("cauldron"). A spring of fresh water in a desert.
  • pharaoh – from pr ꜥꜣ
    pr
    aA
    ("palace; pharaoh"). A supreme ruler of Ancient Egypt.
  • phoenix – from bnw
    bn
    nw w
    G31
    ("grey heron"). A mythological bird that is born again after death.
  • halloumi – from ϩⲁⲗⲱⲙ (halōm, "cheese"). A semi-hard Cypriot cheese made of goat's and sheep's milk.
  • skete – from Ϣⲓϩⲏⲧ (Šihēt). A type of hermitage in Eastern Christianity.
  • bendir – from Moroccan Arabic بَنْدِير‎ (bendīr). A type of frame drum used in Morocco and other parts of North Africa.
  • cotton – from Egyptian Arabic قُطُن‎ (quṭūn). A plant that is harvested and used as a fabric or cloth.
  • djellaba – from Moroccan Arabic جلابة‎ (jellāba). A loose-fitting, ankle-length hooded robe worn by men in North Africa.
  • doum palm – from Moroccan Arabic دوم (dawm). A palm tree with edible oval fruit.
  • halloumi – from Egyptian Arabic حلوم (ḥālūm). A semi-hard Cypriot cheese made of goat's and sheep's milk.
  • kif – from Moroccan Arabic كِيف‎ (kif, "opiate"). A kind of cannabis smoked in Morocco and Algeria, for narcotic or intoxicating effect.
  • loofah – from Egyptian Arabic لُوفَة‎ (lūfa). A tropical vine whose spongy interior is dried and used as a bathing sponge.
  • marabout – from Moroccan Arabic مْرَابِط‎ (mrabeṭ). A Muslim religious leader and teacher in West and North Africa.
  • mhorr – from Moroccan Arabic مهر (mhor). A large gazelle native to the Sahara desert.
  • shadoof – from Egyptian Arabic شادوف‎ (shādūf). A device used to gather water, consisting of a pivoted stick with a bucket on the end of it.
  • shisha – from Egyptian Arabic شيشة (šīša). An Arab water-pipe, or hookah.
  • abugida – from Geʽez አቡጊዳ (ʾäbugida "Geʽez script"). A type of segmental writing system.
  • ensete – from Geʽez እንሰት (inset). Flowering plants part of the banana family.
  • gelada – from Amharic ጭላዳ (č̣əlada). A species of Old World monkey.
  • jilbab – from Geʽez ግልባብ (gəlbab, "covering, veil, wrapper"). A long, loosely-fitting coat worn by some Muslim women.
  • shifta – from Amharic ሽፍታ (šəfta). An outlaw, especially in Eastern Africa.
  • teff – from Amharic ጤፍ (ṭēff). A type of lovegrass native to Ethiopia and Eritrea.
  • aye-aye – from Malagasy aiay. A small, rodent-like lemur.
  • babakoto – from Malagasy babakoto. A large lemur, an indri.
  • coua – from Malagasy koa. A type of large, terrestrial birds in the cuckoo family.
  • indri – from Malagasy endira. A large lemur.
  • tangena – from Malagasy. A tree known for its highly toxic nuts.
  • tenrec – from Malagasy tandraka, trandrake via French. A small mammal belonging to the Tenrecidae family.
  • valiha – from Malagasy. A type of zither made of bamboo.
  • vontsira – from Malagasy vontsira. The name for two different small, mongoose-like mammals.
  • buchu – from Nama buku. Several herbal species prized for their fragrance and medicinal use.
  • gnu – from Nama. A large antelope with curved horns native to Africa.
  • naras – from Nama !naras ("naras fruit"). A melon that grows in Namibia.
  • oribi – from Nama orab. A small African antelope.
  • tsamma – from some Khoe language. A bitter melon.
  • cola – from some Niger–Congo language. The kola plant, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts. Also: A beverage or a drink made with kola nut flavoring, caramel and carbonated water.
  • aboma – from Fante aboma ("large constricting snake"). Any of the large South American serpents from the genus Boa or related genera.
  • kente – from Twi. A type of fabric made of interwoven cloth strips, native to Ghana.
  • kwashiorkor – from Ga kwàṣìɔkɔ́ ("the sickness the older child gets when the next baby is born"). A form of malnutrition, found in children, caused by dietary insufficiency of protein in combination with a high carbohydrate diet.
  • shito – from a Ga word meaning "pepper". A spicy Ghanaian sauce made with seafood, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, and spices.
  • akonting – from Jola-Fonyi. The folk lute of the Jola people of West Africa.
  • azawakh - possibly from Fula. A breed of dog from West and North Africa
  • banana – from Wolof banaana ("banana") via Spanish or Portuguese. An elongated curved tropical fruit that grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
  • chigger – from earlier chigoe, possibly from Wolof or Yoruba jiga ("insect"). A small tropical flea.[1]
  • fonio – from Wolof foño. A cereal cultivated in Western Africa.
  • khaya – from Wolof khaye ("African mahogany tree"). Any tree of the genus Khaya.
  • mbalax – from a Wolof word meaning "rhythm". A genre of popular dance music chiefly performed in Senegal and The Gambia.
  • nitta – from Fula nétě, from Mandinka. A tropical tree that has edible pods and seeds.
  • thieboudienne – from Wolof ceebu jën via French thiéboudiène. A traditional dish from Senegal, consisting of fish and rice with tomato sauce.
  • xalam – from Wolof. A traditional lute-like string instrument of West Africa.
Bantu
  • abakwetha – from Xhosa abakwetha. A young Xhosa man undergoing the ritual initiation in to manhood.
  • agogwe – from Kuria agogwe. A purported small human-like biped reported from the forests of East Africa.
  • akalat – from Bulu akalat. Any of several species of African birds in the genus Sheppardia.
  • amafufunyana – from Zulu. In Zulu and Xhosa culture, a mental disorder in which the sufferer is believed to have been possessed by evil spirits, causing hysteria.
  • amasi, maas – from Zulu amasi ("curdled or soured milk"). Fermented milk that tastes like cottage cheese or plain yogurt.
  • askari – from Swahili askari ("soldier"). A member of a local African military or police unit, usually one serving in a European colonial force.
  • basenji – from Lingala. A breed of dog from Central Africa.
  • banjo – perhaps from Bantu mbanza.[2] A stringed instrument.
  • bao – from Swahili bao ("board; goal; board game"). A mancala board game played in East Africa.
  • boda boda – from Swahili bodaboda, itself from English border. A bicycle or motorcycle used as a taxi.
  • bongo – probably from Lokele boungu, via American Spanish bongó.[3] A pair of small drums.
  • boma – from Swahili boma. An enclosure usually made of thorn bushes, and latterly of steel fencing, for protection from marauders.
  • bwana – from Swahili bwana ("master"), from Arabic. A big boss, important person.
  • chama – from Swahili chama ("organization; society"). An informal cooperative society, usually for pooling and investing savings.
  • chikungunya – from Makonde chikungunya ("that which bends up", referring to the arthritic effects of the disease). A viral fever caused by the Chikungunya virus, an alphavirus spread by mosquito bites.
  • chimpanzee – from some Bantu language, possibly Vili ci-mpenzi. A great ape of the genus Pan, native to Africa, and believed by biologists to be the closest extant relative to humans.[4]
  • cocopan – from Nguni nqukumbana. A small minecart.
  • dagga – from Shona. Earthen plaster.
  • dengue – possibly from Swahili dinga ("sudden attack; seizure") via Spanish. An acute febrile mosquito-borne tropical disease.
  • duppy – from Bube dupe ("ghost"). A Caribbean ghost or spirit, often appearing in the form of a dog barking or howling through the night.
  • gacaca – from Kinyarwanda. A system of community justice inspired by Rwandan tradition, used more recently in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
  • goober – from Kongo nguba ("peanut"). A peanut.
  • gqom – from Zulu. A minimalistic style of house music from South Africa.
  • gumbo – from Bantu ngombo, kingombo ("okra plant"). A soup or stew made with okra.
  • hakuna matata – from Swahili hakuna matata ("there are no worries"). A phrase meaning "no worries; take it easy". Popularized by Disney's The Lion King.
  • harambee – from Swahili harambee ("let's pull together!"). A traditional Kenyan community self-help event or organization.
  • imbabala – from some Bantu language. A bushbuck, Tragelaphus sylvaticus, one of two species, ranging more into southern and eastern Africa than the other species, the harnessed bushbuck.
  • impala – from Zulu impala. An African antelope, Aepyceros melampus, noted for its leaping ability; the male has ridged, curved horns.
  • impi – from Zulu impi ("war, battle, army"). A group of Zulu (or other Bantu) warriors; a detachment of armed men.
  • indaba – from Zulu indaba ("matter, issue, affair") A tribal conference held by Nguni leaders.
  • indlamu – from Zulu indlamu. A traditional Zulu dance from South Africa in which the dancer lifts one foot over the head and brings it down hard, landing squarely on the downbeat.
  • inDuna – from Zulu induna ("male animal; headman"). A South African tribal councillor or headman (under the king); someone in authority, a boss.
  • inyanga – from Zulu] inyanga ("moon; month"). A traditional Zulu doctor or healer.
  • isibongo – from Zulu isibongo ("surname; clan name"). A complimentary metonym used to describe members of a Zulu clan.
  • jenga – from Swahili jenga ("to build, construct"). A game where players try to remove a block from a tower of wooden blocks without toppling the tower.
  • jumbo – from the name of Jumbo, a large elephant, from Swahili jambo ("hello") and jumbe ("chief"). Very large or powerful.
  • jumbie – from Kongo zumbi ("fetish"). A Caribbean ghost or evil spirit.
  • kabaka – from Luganda akabaka. The title of the king of Buganda.
  • kadogo – from Swahili kadogo ("little one"). A child soldier, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • kanga – from Swahili kanga ("kanga; guinea fowl"). A colourful printed cotton garment worn by women in East Africa.
  • kanzu – from Swahili kanzu. A white or cream-coloured robe worn by men in the African Great Lakes region.
  • kikoi – from Swahili kikoi. A traditional rectangle of woven cloth originating from eastern Africa.
  • kizomba – from Kimbundu kizomba ("party").
  • kgosi – from Tswana kgosi. A tribal chief among the Tswana people of southern Africa.
  • kgotla – from Tswana kgotla. Any of several types of public meetings in a Botswana village, especially involving a gathering of tribal elders; also the place where such a meeting is held.
  • kongamato – from a Kaonde word meaning "breaker of boats". A pterosaur-like cryptid of Africa.
  • kongoni – from Swahili kongoni ("gnu; hartebeest; topi") A type of hartebeest from East Africa.
  • konzo – from Yaka. An epidemic paralytic disease associated with excessive consumption of cassava, which contains cyanide.
  • kwacha – from Chichewa kwacha ("it has dawned"). The name of the currency of Malawi and Zambia.
  • kwela – from Zulu -khwela ("get up"). A style of music, first played in the townships, whose principal instrument is the penny whistle.
  • lechwe – from Tswana, or from Sotho letsa ("antelope"). Kobus leche, an African antelope that inhabits marshy regions.
  • lekgotla – from Tswana lekgotla ("a public place where consultation and judicial proceedings are conducted"). A consultative process between groups pursuing a common goal.
  • likembe – from Lingala likembé. A musical instrument found in sub-Saharan Africa; a kind of lamellophone.
  • lilangeni – from Swazi lilangeni. The currency of Swaziland.
  • lobola – from Xhosa, Zulu lobola. The bride price among certain Bantu peoples of South Africa.
  • loti – from Sotho loti ("mountain"). The basic monetary unit of the currency of the Kingdom of Lesotho.
  • macumba – from Kimbundu makôba. A religious cult, having elements of sorcery, ritual dance and fetishes, from Brazil.
  • mandazi – from Swahili mandaazi. A form of fried bread from eastern Africa.
  • mahewu – from Zulu amaHewu. A sour beverage from Africa, made from cornmeal.
  • makoro – from Tswana makoro. A dugout canoe, especially as used in the Okavango Swamps of Botswana.
  • makossa – from a Duala word meaning ("I dance"). A music genre from Cameroon, with a strong bass rhythm and prominent horn section.
  • mamba – from Zulu imamba. Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.
  • marabunta – from Kimbundu marimbonda ("Sceliphron spirifex"). The name of several large wasps known for their painful stings.
  • marimba – from some Bantu language, perhaps Kimbundu marimba ("xylophone"). A musical instrument similar to a xylophone but clearer in pitch.
  • matatu – from Swahili matutu ("three"), based on the original price of three shillings. A privately-owned minibus serving as share taxis.
  • matoke – from Luganda matooke. Mashed boiled bananas or plantains, a staple food in Uganda.
  • mbaqanga – from Zulu mbaqanga. A style of South African music, with rural Zulu roots and a jazz influence, that originated in the 1960s.
  • mbube – from Zulu umbube ("lion"). A style of a cappella choral music originating among the Zulus of South Africa.
  • mbuna – from Tonga mbuna ("cichlid"). One of a group of haplochromine cichlids from Lake Malawi.
  • mganga – from Swahili mganga. An African witch doctor.
  • miombo – from Bemba miombo. Any tree of the genus Brachystegia.
  • miraa – from Swahili miraa. Khat.
  • mopane – from Tswana mopane. A tree, Colophospermum mopane, native to southern Africa.
  • moqueca – from Kimbundu mukeka. A Brazilian stew based on fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cilantro.
  • motlopi – from Tswana motlopi. An evergreen tree native to southern and tropical Africa, Boscia albitrunca; one of the most important forage trees of the Kalahari.
  • mpingo – from Swahili mpingo ("ebony tree"}. A small African tree in the family Fabaceae.
  • msasa – from Shona musasa. A tree of Central Africa, Brachystegia spiciformis.
  • muti – from Zulu umuthi. ("tree, wood, medicine"). Traditional Southern African medicine.
  • mwenge – from Luganda omwenge. An alcoholic drink of Uganda, made with fermented bananas and sorghum.
  • mvule – from Swahili mvule. A tropical African tree yielding iroko wood.
  • mzee – from Swahili mzee. An honorific for elders.
  • mzungu – from Swahili mzungu ("wanderer"). A white person in East Africa.
  • nagana – from Zulu ulunakane, unakane. A disease of vertebrates in southern Africa, characterised by swelling and lethargy and caused by trypanosomes transmitted by tsetse flies.
  • nkisi – from Kongo nkisi ("spirit, charm"). A spirit, or an object inhabited by a spirit, in Bantu religious beliefs.
  • nyala – probably from Tsonga nyala. A southern African antelope, Tragelaphus angasii.
  • pombe – from Swahili pombe. Millet beer.
  • posho – from Swahili posho ("rations"), itself from English portion. A food product made of cornmeal.
  • pula – from Tswana, Northern Sotho, Sotho pula. Rain. Also: the currency of Botswana.
  • quilombo – from Kimbundu kilombo. A remote, inland settlement originally settled by fugitive slaves (or others).
  • rungu – from Swahili rungu. A wooden throwing club or baton used in certain East African tribal cultures.
  • sadza – from Shona sadza. A cooked, pulverized grain meal (stiff porridge) that is the staple food in Zimbabwe.
  • sangoma – from Zulu isangoma. A South African witch doctor, traditional herbalist, or traditional healer.
  • shongololo – from Xhosa, Zulu ukushonga ("to roll up"). A millipede.
  • safari – from Swahili safari ("journey"), from Arabic. A trip into any undeveloped area to see, photograph or hunt wild animals in their own environment.
  • sengi – from Swahili sengi. An elephant shrew.
  • shetani – from Swahili shetani. An evil spirit from East African mythology, often the subject of artwork.
  • shifta – from Swahili shifta. An outlaw, especially in Eastern Africa.
  • shilingi – from Swahili shilingi, itself from English shilling.
  • shweshwe – from Sotho seShoeshoe, named after Moshoeshoe I. A patterned South African fabric.
  • tilapia – a latinization of Tswana tlhapi ("fish"). Any of various edible fish, of the genus Tilapia, native to Africa and the Middle East but naturalized worldwide.
  • thebe – from Tswana thebe ("shield"). 1/100 of a Botswana pula, the currency of Botswana.
  • toyi-toyi – from Northern Ndebele and Shona. A dance from southern Africa, used especially during political protests.
  • tsetse – from Tswana tsêtsê. Any fly of the genus Glossina, native to Africa, that feeds on human and animal blood; known primarily as a carrier of parasitic trypanosomes.
  • ubuntu – from Xhosa, Zulu ubuntu. A South African ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other.
  • umqombothi – from Xhosa. A beer made from maize, maize malt, sorghum malt, yeast and water, commonly found in South Africa.
  • vuvuzela – from Zulu vuvuzela ("to make a vu vu noise"). A trumpet-shaped horn, now usually plastic, that produces a loud buzzing sound.
  • zombie – from some Bantu language. A person, usually undead, animated by unnatural forces (such as magic), with no soul or will of his/her own.
Cross River
Volta–Niger
  • bocor – from Fon bokono. A voodoo practitioner who deals with malefic as well as beneficial effects; a sorcerer.
  • chigger – from earlier chigoe, possibly from Yoruba or Wolof jiga ("insect"). A small tropical flea.[1]
  • nitta – from Mandinka nété. A tropical tree that has edible pods and seeds
  • nanga – from Acholi naŋa. A simple harp used in central and eastern Africa.
  • nyatiti – from Luo nyatiti. A traditional eight-stringed lyre.
  • okapi – from Mvuba okapi. A large ruminant mammal native to the rainforests of the Congo.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "chigger (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. 2019.
  2. ^ "banjo (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. 2019.
  3. ^ "bongo (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. 2019.
  4. ^ "chimpanzee" in the American Heritage Dictionary, 2011, 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  5. ^ Mason, Julian (1960). "The Etymology of 'Buckaroo'". American Speech. 35 (1): 51–55. doi:10.2307/453613. JSTOR 453613.