Unique English Words Derived from African Languages

Many African words have been incorporated into English. Quite a few of them are a result of being borrowed through colonization by the European countries. A few have survived the eras of slavery and have made their way into common language. In Africa there are thousands of languages, which are usually organized into large groupings, such as Arabic in the northern regions, Bantu languages, and Afrikaans in South Africa(which is really Dutch, when South Africa was under Dutch colonization.)

bwana
This Swahili word, which was originally derived from the Arabic word abuna, means "boss"

panga
This Swahili word means a "machete", used extensively for agriculture.

basenji
This word derived from Lingala denotes a dog of African origin that does not bark.

indaba
This Zulu word means "conference" or "discussion"

hoodoo
This African word, derived most like from Hausa, had three meanings. The first is simply bad luck, or alternatively a source of rotten luck. It can also mean magic that is traditionally practiced by some blacks in the Southern U.S. Lastly, it can also denote a strange rock formation in the Western U.S. that is columnar in form.

cooter
A turtle(used mainly in the South), of Malinke and Bambara(African languages) origin.

ouabain
This substance is both a medicine and a poison. It is a poisonous glycoside(a substance derived from sugar) that is obtained from shrubs and trees in Eastern Africa, and can be used as a diuretic and cardiac stimulant, or as a poison for arrows. Derived from the Somali word waabayyo.

impala
This Zulu word describes an African antelope with twisted horns in the male.

mbira
This Shona(spoken by people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique) word is an African instrument that has metal strips organized on a wooden base or drum, that resonate when plucked.

kwashiorkor
Severe malnutrition in children and babies, which is caused by a diet high in carbohydrates(usually mainly cornmeal) and very low in proteins. This word originates from the Ga( or Kwa, a Ghanian and Western African language) word kwasioko.

goober
This means peanut, and is deried from Bantu.

zombie
Everyone knows zombies from popular culture, but this word came to us through a long history. It originates in the Louisianian or Haitian Creole word "zobi", which is of Bantu origin. It was first used in the 19th century to denote voodoo dead spirits. Now it has taken a new meaning, which is "automaton" or someone who looks like a robot, lifeless and sluggish.

So as you can see some very interesting African words have become commonplace in English now. They tell many stories and show us the rich cultural heritage of Africa.

source:

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. CD-ROM Version 2.5. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2000.