English words of African origin

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The following list names English words that originate from African languages.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bantu languages</span> Large language family spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Bantu languages are a language family of about 600 languages that are spoken by the Bantu peoples of Central, Southern, Eastern and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Africa</span>

The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages, one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong to many distinct language families, among which the largest are:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zulu language</span> Nguni language of eastern South Africa and neighbouring countries

Zulu, or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 13.56 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The word "KwaZulu-Natal" translates into English as "Home of the Zulu Nation is Natal". Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa, and it is understood by over 50% of its population. It became one of South Africa's 12 official languages in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candomblé Bantu</span> Branch of Candomblé religion

Candomblé Bantu is one of the major branches (nations) of the Candomblé religious belief system. It developed in the Portuguese Empire among Kongo and Mbundu slaves who spoke Kikongo and Kimbundu languages. The supreme and creative god is Nzambi or Nzambi a Mpungu. Below him are the Jinkisi or Minkisi, deities of Bantu mythology. These deities resemble Olorun and the other orishas of the Yoruba religion. Minkisi is a Kongo language term: it is the plural of Nkisi, meaning "receptacle". Akixi comes from the Kimbundu language term Mukixi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kongo language</span> Bantu language of west-central Africa

Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kongo in the above-named countries. An estimated five million more speakers use it as a second language.

Kituba is a widely used lingua franca in Central Africa. It is a creole language based on Kikongo, a Bantu language. It is a national language in Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta is a Jola scholar and musician from Mandinary, Gambia, who pioneered the research and documentation of the akonting, a Jola folk lute, as well as the related Manjago folk lute, the buchundu, in the mid-1980s. Prior to Jatta's work, these instruments were largely unknown outside the rural villages of the Senegambia region of West Africa.

Kanye is a Yoruba, Igbo, Swahili, Zulu and Xhosa name. In Yoruba culture, the name means "next in line". In Igbo culture, the name means "let's give". The name or word Kanye can also be derived from Bantu languages indigenous to the Swahili people of Eastern Africa meaning "only once"; "only one".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bantu religion</span>

Bantu religion is a system of various spiritual beliefs and practices that relate to the Bantu people of Central, East, and Southern Africa. Although Bantu peoples account for several hundred different ethnic groups, there is a high degree of homogeneity in Bantu cultures and customs, just as in Bantu languages. Many Bantu cultures traditionally believed in a supreme god whose name is a variation of Nyambe/Nzambe and ancestral veneration. The phrase "Bantu tradition" usually refers to the common, recurring themes that are found in all, or most, Bantu cultures on the continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bantu peoples</span> Ethnolinguistic group in Africa

The Bantu peoples are an indigenous ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct native African ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. The languages are native to countries spread over a vast area from West Africa, to Central Africa, Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa. Bantu people also inhabit southern areas of Northeast African states.

Afro-Dominicans are Dominicans of African descent and the majority of the Commonwealth of Dominica's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Akoda</span> Nigerian author, lexicographer and entrepreneur

Philip "Tete" Akoda is a Nigerian author, lexicographer and entrepreneur. He has written a number of Efik literary works including "A 21st Century Efik pocket Dictionary", "Learn Efik 1-2" and "Groundwork of Eniong Abatim History (1670-2020)". He is also the CEO and Founder of the AFLANG project, an EdTech startup which seeks to preserve and promote African Languages and Culture. Through his startup, he has developed mobile apps such as Learn Efik, which was the first Efik language learning app on google playstore; and later on the first Efik mobile dictionary app which contains over 14,000 words and has been labelled as one of the most comprehensive African dictionary mobile apps. Philip is known for his literary contributions to Efik literature.

References

  1. "The Senegambian Akonting" . Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. "Black People : – The Mandinka Legacy in The New World". Destee – Black Discussion Forum. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  3. "The Ekonting: African Roots of the Banjo – A Direct Connection Between African & African-American Music – Down Home Radio Show". 16 April 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. "Bongo | Etymology, origin and meaning of bongo by etymonline".
  5. Mason, Julian (1960). "The Etymology of 'Buckaroo'". American Speech. 35 (1): 51–55. doi:10.2307/453613. JSTOR   453613.
  6. "Chigger | Etymology, origin and meaning of chigger by etymonline".
  7. "chimpanzee" in American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2011.
  8. "Kola Definition & Meaning". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. "Ebony Definition & Meaning". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. Conference, Association of Social Anthropologists of the Commonwealth; Conference 1, Association of Social Anthropologists of the Commonwealth (1995). Worlds Apart: Modernity Through the Prism of the Local. Psychology Press. ISBN   9780415107884.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Play Stuff Blog » Archives » Jenga. Jenga? Jenga! | National Museum of Play". 7 August 2011. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  12. "JUKEBOX definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary" . Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  13. "Jumbo definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary".
  14. "Tilapia etymology". www.aquaticcommunity.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  15. "Voodoo definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary".
  16. "Zebra | Etymology, origin and meaning of zebra by etymonline".
  17. "zombie | Search Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.