Classics 22: Etymology


Words from African languages (including Afrikaans, which is an Indo-European language and so not "native").

The following list is a work-in-progress. The full project is a list of all "African"-language-derived words in W3. It is far from complete, but it is nonetheless extensive.


Also note that this is derived from Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Online, mostly in the 2010's. I say that because there are several items below that are problematic, because they are either exonyms (i.e. names given to peoples or languages that are not the names the people or language calls itself) or they are names of geographical regions (no geographical region speaks a language or is a language). Not being an expert in these languages or peoples or regions, I am dependent on others for information, but I want to be clear that I don't think that exonyms or geographical terms for languages are appropriate and I apologize for using them



























Bemba
kwacha (monetary unit of Malawi and Zambia)
ngwee (monetary unit of Zambia)


Bambara
balaphon/balafo (a xylophone: via French)
da (East Indian fiber plant: aka kenaff (from Persian)
shea (a tree with nuts and wood) is this where we get "shea" butter?

akin to entries: benee/benni/bene, cala, calinut, cooter, gooranut, juke (juke joint, jukebox)

Amharic (an Ethiopic language?)
ashkoko (hyrax)
beisa (an antelope)
birr (Ethiopian monetary unit)
bohor (reedbuck)
chamma (toga-like garment)
cusso (brayera tree)
ensete (abyssinian banana)
falasha (a people: Ethiopian Jews)
injera (bread made of teff)
madoqua (an antelope)
mesenna/musenna (bark of a tree)
negus (title of king)
sanga (African cattle)
shangalla/shankalla (non-Ethiopian/non-Arab Ethiopians)
teff (a cereal grass: important economically)
tocusso (a grass)
tora (a hartebeest)
zimb (a fly)

Bantu (
"Bantu" itself? incl. bantoid, bantustan
bamboula (West Indian drum and dance: via French)
Basenji (a dog breed: akin to Lingala and Tshiluba words)
bubinga (a tree)
dagga (a mortar: via Afrikaans)
goombay (Bahamian Calypso music: akin to Kongo and Tshiluba words)
gumbo/gombo (various meanings: soup, okra, mud, soil, a patois, mixture: via Am. Fr.: akin to Umbundu, Kongo, and Tshiluba words)
gumbo-limbo (a tree: akin to Kongo word)
gumby (a drum: akin to Kongo and Tshiluba words)
kalimba (a thumb piano: akin to Bemba and Kimbundu words)
lechwe/lichi (an antelope: akin to Sesuto)
mafura/mafurra (a tree: akin to Sotho and Ronga)
njoroan (of/relating to a Neolithic culture of Kenya)
quagga? (a wild ass: via Afrikaans)
samango monkey
toto (baby, child: akin to Swahili word)
tumbu fly (a fly: akin to Kongo and Swahili words)
wanga/ouanga (voodoo sorcery: via Haitian Creole: akin to Kimbundu and Tschiluba words)
yohimbe (accent on e)/yohimbi/yohimbihi (a tree: akin to Duala)

Bantu peoples: it is possible that these names are of Bantu origin (but cf. American Indians, whose tribal names, at least the ones most widely known, are often from neighbor's languages). Those that begin with ma-, am-, wa-, and ba- are most likely Bantu, because that means "people" in Bantu languages (where do I get that from?)
amba
ambo
basuto (aka Sotho: also a kind of pony)
batwa
bechuana
bemba (also a language)
bena
bube/bubi (also a language)
bulu
cabinda (from Portuguese)
chaga/chagga (also a language)
chewa
chokwe (also a language)
Chopi/Chope (also a language)
Duala (also a language)
Eshi-Kongo
Fang/Fan (also a language: via French)
Fingo (also a language)
"ALSO A LANGUAGE PEOPLES FROM HERE ON NOT ENTERED IN LANGUAGE LIST ABOVE"
Ganda (also a language)
Gogo
Hehe (also a language)
Herero (also a language)
Hima/Huma
Ila (also a language)
Kamba (also a language)
Kavirondo/Bantu Kavirondo
Kikuyu (also a language)
Konde (also a language)
Kongo (also a language)
Kota
Krio (English-based Creole of Sierra Leone)
Kuba
Lamba (also a language)
Logoli
Lozi (also a language)
Luba (also "any of numerous languages, esp. Tshiluba")
Lunda (also a language)
Lwena (also a language)
Makonde
Makua (also a language)
Malagasy (also a language, but an Austronesian one)
Mbundu (aka Ovimbundu)
Mpongwe (also a language)
Ndebele (aka Matabele: also a dialect of Zulu)
Ndonga (not explicitly called "Bantu" in W3: also a Bantu language)
Ngala (also two languages)
Ngoni (also a group of Bandu languages)
Ngwato
Nyamwezi (also a language)
Nyanja (also a language)
Nyankole (also a language)
Nyoro (also a language)
Ovimbundu (see Mbundu)
Pokomo (also a language)
Pondo
Regga
Ronga (also a language)
Ruanda (also a language)
Rundi (also a language)
Shambala (also a language)
Shona (also a designed written language and a group of languages)
Soga (also a dialect of Ganda)
Sotho (see Basuto: also a group of languages)
Sukuma
Swahili (also a language)
Swazi (also a language)
Tembu
Tonga (also a language)
Tswa (also a language)
Tswana (a grouping of peoples: also a language)
Venda (also a language)
Vugusa
Yaka
Yao (also a language)
Zulu (also a language)

Possibly:
angola

Ethiopic
ambatch/ambach (tree of Nile)
negus (title of king: via Amharic)

Hamitic (: not complete: just whatever came up in other searches)
erg (desert region: akin to Amharic word)
reg (same as erg)

African names
Aghlabite (member of Arab dynasty: Arab)

Nigeria
obeche/obechi (a tree: native name)

Central African Republic
Bangui (of Bangui, capital city)

Words from unidentified African languages: result of search for "African" in etymologies  and perhaps also a search for "Africa" in etys: check that
addra
aggry bead (a bead: akin to Hausa and Twi words)
ayous (obeche tree: akin to Yoruba: via F)
baku (a tree: akin to Twi word)
banana (via Sp or Pg: akin to Wolof and Mandingo words)
banda (a house of central Africa)
banjo? (akin to Kimbundu word)
baobab (a tree)
benne/benni/bene (sesame: akin to Wolof, Mandingo, and Bambara words)
bisabol/bisabol myrrh/bissabol (gum resin: akin to Wolof)
bolo-bolo ( a fiber and a tree: akin to Bini word)
bongo (an antelope)
bumbo (a tree:West African: akin to Mende? word)
caama/cama fox (a fox and a hartebeest (just caama): akin to Vai word)
cacoon? (snuffbox bean (West Indieslabel) and a tropical american plant: akin to Twi word)
cafuso? (zambo (in Brazillabel)(a racial term): via Pg: akin to Hausa)
cala (a fried cake: akin to Vai and Bambara words)
calinut (a vine's seed: akin to Mende and Bambara words)
calumba/columba/colombo/columbo? (a root: akin to Hausa word)
cashaw (Mesquite 1a (Jamaica label): akin to Yoruba and Bobangi words)
chigger/chigga/djigga/jigger (chigoe 1 and a mite: akin to Wolof and Yoruba words)
chuzwi (an antelope: akin to Umbundu word)
cola/kola (akin to Mandingo and Temne words)
cooter (a turtle in US: akin to Bambara and Malinke)
cush (a food dish: akin to Hausa and Efik words, both of which are from Ar kuskus (couscous): labeled "South")
dambo (a floodplain of central Africa)
dandy fever? (dengue: via W Indian Creole?: akin to Swahili word)
dengue (dengue: via Sp: akin to Swahili, Giryama, and Rabai words)
drongo (a bird)
eddo (taro and its root: akin to Twi and Fanti words)
etua tree (a tree: akin to Twi word)
foo-foo (a plantain dough: akin to Ewe and Wolof words)
giraffe? (giraffe: African?>Ar>It: akin to Egyptian word)
goober (South and Midland peanut: akin to Kimbundu and Kongo words)
goofer (a witch doctor of Am South and a curse or spell: akin to Mende, Ewe, and Fon words)
gooranut (a kola nut:West African origin: akin to Hausa, Bambara, and Malinke)
gorilla (gorilla: African tribe>Gk>NL)
gris-gris/grigri/greegree (a talisman, spell, etc.: African > F: akin to Balante)
hoodoo (voodoo, jinx, N American rock formation: akin to Hausa word)
jigger (see chigger)
jocko (chimpanzee or monkey: via F: akin to Efik)
juju (a fetish of W. Africa, magic attributed to it: West African: akin to Hausa)
juke (also jook South) (as in juke joint, jukebox: W African > Gullah: akin to Wolof and Bambara)
kanya? butter and tree (shea: perh. modif. of Hausa word)
kino (a tree: akin to Mandingo word)
koko (a plant)
korin?
kusimanse (a mongoose-related mammal of W. Africa)
kwatuma (a moray eel)
loa (a genus of worms: via NL: akin to Kongo word)
lobola (Bantu bride price)
makore (a tree)
marimba (a xylophone: akin to Kimbundu and Kongo words)
marula (a tree)
miombo (sparse woodland)
mojo? (chiefly south: akin to Gullah and Fulani words)
mwami (ruler/king in Ruanda-Urundi)
nagor
nancy-story (a folktale: "West African": akin to Twi and Ewe words)
Nandi bear
nanger
Nanyukian
Obeah (a system of belief in Brit. W. Indies. Guianas, and SE US: akin to Edo and Twi words)
okra/okro (okra: akin to Twi)
oldowan???
panga (a knife)
pangola grass (a grass)
samba (a Brazilian dance; a canasta game; obeche: African > Pg)
sambo
sancho (a guitar: akin to Ewe and Twi words)
sassy bark? (bark of sasswood: akin to Twi and Ewe words)
sasswood/sassywood? (a tree)
schih (grasslands)
silphium (extinct plant or other plant: N African >Gk>L)
soukous (a dance: Afr. French < F <L)
suni (an antelope)
tabby (a cement: Gullah < African: akin to Wolof, Hausa, and Kongo words)
voodoo/voudou and vodun/vodoun (voodooism: via La Fr: akin to Fon and Ewe words)
yam (yam: W African >Sp &Pg: akin to Fulani?)
Zambo

Translation of African phrase of unspecified origin:
bad-mouth (the verb: W African phrase like a Vai phrase)
So. African geog.
Blomfontein
Bultfonteinite (a mineral)
Capetonian

So. African proper name
Latimeria (a fish)
Malania (a fish)
Krugerrand

AFRIKAANS

Afrikaans:
Afrikaans
aardvark (transl: "earth pig, earth hog")
aardwolf (transl: "earth wolf")
Afrikaner
Afrikanerdom
amaas (a kind of smallpox)
apartheid
astrild (a bird)
avondbloem (a plant)
babala (pearl millet)
banket (a Transvaal rock)
berg (a mountain: chiefly Africa)
berghaan
biskop (a fish)
blaubok (an antelope)
blesbok (an antelope)
blesmol (a rodent)
bobbejaan (baboon)
bobotie
boekenhout (a tree)
bokmakierie (a bird)
bondsman (Afrikaner member of colonial independence organization)
bontebok
bonte quagga (a zebra)
bont tick (a tick)
boomdassie (an arboreal rabbit)
boomslang (a snake)
boschbok
boschvark
bosjesman (bushman)
bromvoel (a bird)
bushman
bushveld
commandeer
commando
Constantia (a dessert wine)
crombec (a bird)
dagga (an herb)
dagga (a kind of mortar)
das and dassie (a hyrax and a fish)
dauw (a zebra)
didric (a bird)
dolos (a knucklebone used in divining)
domsiekte (a sheep disease)
doodskop (a fish)
doornboom (a bush)
dop (a brandy)
dopper (a member of a calvinistic sect)
dronkgrass (a grass)
duiker (an antelope)
duikerbok (same as duiker)
dunsiekte (animal disease)
eland (an antelope)
essenhout (a tree)
galjoen (a fish)
galziekte (listed without Africa label: cf. synonymous galsiekte)
geelbec (a duck and a fish)
geeldikkop (a sheep disease: aka yellow thick head)
geelhout (a tree)
geilsiekte (a sheep disease)
gemsbok/gemsbuck (an antelope)
gifblaar/gif (a shrub)
gom-pauw (now the Afrikaans is gompou)
grassveld
grysbok/grysbuck (an antelope)
haak-en-steek (a shrub)
hackthorn (a wattle)
hadada (a bird: synonymous with hadedah ibis)
halfmens (a plant)
hammerkop (a bird)
hartebeest (an antelope)
heemraad (SA gov't. council)
hereniging (unification of SA polit. parties)
hottentot (a fish)
jaagsiekte/jaagziekte/jagsiekte/jagziekte (sheep disease)
jacopever (a fish)
jakhalsbessie (a tree)
Johannesberger
John Brown (a fish)
josef/joseph (a fish)
kabeljou (a fish)
kalkvis (a fish)
kamassi (a tree)
kaross (garment or rug of skins)
karree (a plant)
karroo (dry tableland)
katel (a hammock: from Pg from Tamil-Malayalam)
katonkel (a fish)
keurboom (a shrub)
kiaat (a tree)
kingklip (an eel)
kleeneboc (an antelope)
klipbok (klipspringer)
klipdassie (a hyrax)
klipfish (salted fish; a fish)
kliphaas (rock hare)
klipsalamander (a lizard)
klipspringer (an antelope)
knobkerrie/ knobkerry (a short club)
knoppie spider
kokerboom (a tree)
kommetje (a depression  [geog. feature])
koodoo/kudu/koudou (an antelope: prob. fr. Xhosa)
kopje (a small hill)
korhaan (a bird)
korhaan/knoorhaan (a fish)
kraal (a village)
krantz (a cliff)
kreef (cape crawfish)
kurvey (carry in an ox wagon)
kurveyor (a trader who kurveys)
laager (military camp with defensive ring of vehicles)
landdrost (Boer magistrate)
leerfish
lourie (a bird)
lui-haai (a shark)
maanhaar-jackal (aardwolf)
maasbanker (a fish)
meerkat
melkhout (a tree)
mispel (a tree)
muid (a capacity unit)
muishond (a weasel)
naboom (a tree)
nieshout (a tree)
oribi (an antelope)
palebuck (an oribi (an antelope))
pampelmoes (a fish)
panga (a fish: from Tagalog)
platanna (a frog)
platteland (backveld)
quagga (a zebra)
ratel (a badger-like animal)
reitbok (a reedbuck (an antelope))
rhebok/reebok and rhebuck (an antelope)
ringhals (a snake)
roer (a gun)
rondavel (a natuve hut)
roodebok and rooibok (an antelope)
rooibos tea (tea made from a shrub)
rooigras (a grass)
sancord (a fish)
sandkruiper (a ray)
schaapsteker/skaapsteker (a snake)
skey (a yoke part)
slangkop (a plant)
snoek (a fish)
snook (a fish)
span (2+pair of oxen)
spanspek (a melon)
speareye (a shark)
spekboom (a tree)
spoor (track, sign)
spoor (to track)
spreeuw (a starling)
springbok and springbuck (an antelope)
springhaas and springhare (a hare)
spruit (a often dry tributary stream)
steenbok/steinbok/steinbock (an antelope)
steentjie (a fish)
stockfish (a fish)
strandlooper (a prehistoric people)
suikerbos (a bush)
tambookie (a bush)
tambouti (a tree)
tok-tokkie/toktokje (a beetle)
tong (a fish)
trek (a journey)
trek (to travel)
trekboer (a migratory grazier)
trekker
troupand (a bird)
tsetse
uitlander (a foreigner)
umfaan (a hired boy)
vaal (an antelope (rhebok))
veld/veldt (grassland)
veldschoen (a shoe)
vetkousie (a plant)
voetganger (a locust)
Volksraad (parliament)
voortrekker (a pioneer)
vrouw/vrow (a woman)
wildebeest (gnu)
witgat/witgatboom (a tree)
wolveboon (a tree: yes, it is -booN)
wonderboom (a tree)
zuurveldt (sourveld)

translation from Afrikaans
bluebuck
bluetongue (bloutong)
buckwagon (a wagon)
bufflehorn (a tree)
bushbuck (an antelope)
bushpig
earth pig/hog
earth wolf
field-cornet
gallsick
off-load
outspan (unyoke)
quivertree (kokerboom)
reedbuck (an antelope)
stumpnose (a fish)
sugarbird (a bird)
wait-a-bit (a plant)
waterbuck (an antelope)

variant spellings from Afrikaans:
Africander/Afrikander

With usage label " Africa" or a subregion thereof from Afrikaans
aasvogel
achter
baas
backveld
bafaro (a fish)
biltong
blaasop (fish)
bloedpens (lamb disease)
bloubiskop (a fish)
blouwildebeesoog (sheep disease)
bredi (stew)
brey (soften skins)
bult (a rocky outcropping)
bywoner (sharecropper; squatter)
cocopan (folk etymology: mining cart)
dagga (hemp)
dikkop (a bird)
disselboom (a wagon part)
donga (a ravine)
dorp (village, township)
drilvis (electric ray)
drostdy (a municipal office or jurisdiction)
erf (land unit)
fink (finch)
galsiekte (listed without Africa label: cf. synonymous galziekte)
hamel (weather: castrated something or other)
harder (a fish)
highveld
hock (small/temporary building)
hok (a pen or other enclosure)
inspan (put animals in harness)
jong (a young man)
Kaffir boom (a tree)
kameel (giraffe)
kameeldorn (acacia)
kappie (sunbonnet)
kloof (a deep glen, ravine, gorge)
konfyt (preserves)
kromnek disease (tomato disease)
kweek/kweekgrass (a grass)
laagte/leegte (geog. low valley in veld)
lamsiekte (lame sickness)
mealie (Indian corn)
mebos (a confection)
mis (dung)
mynpacht (mining term)
naartje (tangerine)
nagmaal (evening meal; communion)
overberg (tramontane)
piccanin (pickaninny)
pondokkie (a hovel)
poort (a mountain pass)
pylstert (a ray)
riem (rawhide thong)
riempie (rawhide strip used in webbing)
rooinek (Britisher: means "redneck"!)
schelm (a rogue, rascal)
scherm (a screen, fence)
schimmel (a gray horse: has label "chiefly dialect" which must refer to African dialect, mustn't it?)
schlenter (a fake (e.g. diamond))
schrik (a panic)
sjambok (a whip)
skaamoog (a shark)
skolly (a hoodlum)
sluit (a gully)
snotziekte (a cattle disease)
span (attach cattle to vehicle)
stad (a native village)
steekgras (a grass)
stoep (a porch)
stokroos (a plant)
styfsiekte (a cattle disease)
taal (Afrikaans)
takhaar (a backveld Boer)
tickey ( threepence)
tripple (a way for a horse to move)
tripple (to go at a tripple)
tsama (a watermelon)
uintjie (an edible part of a plant)
uitspan (outspan herein)
vaalhaai (a shark)
verf (farmyard)
verneuk (a cheat, swindle)
vlei/vley/vlaie/vly (a marshy depression, pan; marsh)
witteboom (a tree)


racist from Afrikaans
bastaard and griqua (a mix of Bushman and Hottentot and/or European)

peoples from Afrikaans
Griqua
Griqualander
bergdama
Hotnot (Hottentot)
Hottentot

note: apparently sch is obsolete in Afrikaans, but is preserved in several words above.
bosjesman (spelling is inexplicable: it is from bossiesman)
dauw is now obsolete (modern Afr. is dou)