The following list names English words that originate from African languages.
Adinkra – from Akan, visual symbols that represent concepts or aphorisms. Andriana – from Malagasy, aristocratic noble class of the Kingdom of Madagascar apartheid – from Afrikaans, "separateness" Aṣẹ - from Yoruba, "I affirm" or "make it happen" ammonia – from the Egyptian language in reference to the god Amun Bantu - from Bantu languages, "people" babalawo – from Yoruba, priest of traditional Yoruba religion banana – adopted from Wolof via Spanish or Portuguese banjo – from Mandinka bangoe, which refers to the Akonting basenji – breed of dog from Central Africa – Congo, Central African Republic etc. Biafran – extremely skinny (reference to the widespread starvation that occurred in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War). boma – from Swahili bongo – West African buckra – "white man or person", from Efik and Ibibio mbakara Buharism - policies of Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, especially during his rule as a military dictator. bwana – from Swahili, meaning "husband, important person or safari leader" chigger – possibly from Wolof and/or Yoruba jiga "insect" chimpanzee – loaned in the 18th century from a Bantu language, possibly Kivili ci-mpenzi."chimpanzee" in American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2011. chimurenga – from Shona, "revolution" or "liberation" cola – from West African languages (Temne kola, Mandinka kolo) cooter from Bambara and Malinké kuta meaning turtle dengue – possibly from Swahili dinga djembe – from West African languages ebony – from Ancient Egyptian hebeni fanimorous – from Yoruba "fani mọ́ra" meaning "to attract people to you" gerenuk – from Somali. A long-necked antelope in Eastern Africa (Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Djibouti) gnu – from Khoisan !nu through Khoikhoi i-ngu and Dutch gnoe goober – possibly from Bantu (Kikongo) gumbo – from Bantu Kongo languages ngombo meaning "okra" hakuna matata – from Swahili, "no trouble" or "no worries" impala – from Zulu im-pala impi – from Zulu language meaning "war, battle or a regiment" indaba – from Xhosa or Zulu languages – "stories" or "news" typically conflated with "meeting" (often used in South African English) japa – from Yoruba, "to flee" jazz – possibly from Central African languages (Kongo) From the word jizzi. jenga – from the Swahili verb kujenga meaning "to build". jive – possibly from Wolof jev juke, jukebox – possibly from Wolof and Bambara through Gullah jumbo – from Swahili (jambo "hello" or from Kongo nzamba "elephant") kalimba Kwanzaa – a recent coinage (Maulana Karenga 1965) for the name of an African American holiday, abstracted from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits [of the harvest]" kwashiorkor – from Ga language, coastal Ghana, meaning "swollen stomach" 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 marimba – from Bantu (Kongo languages) marímbula – plucked musical instrument (lamellophone) of the Caribbean islands merengue (dance) – possibly from Fulani meaning "to shake or quiver" Mobutism – state ideology of Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) mojo – from Kongo Moyoo "medicine man" through Louisiana Creole French or Gullah mumbo jumbo – from Mandingo mtepe – from Swahili, "boat" mzungu – from Bantu languages, "wanderer" nitrogen – from the Egyptian language. The salt natron, transliterated as nṯrj. obeah – from West African (Efik ubio, Twi ebayifo)
okapi – from a language in the Congo okra – from Igbo ókùrù orisha – from Yoruba, "deity" Osu – from Igbo, traditional caste system oyinbo – from Yoruba, "skinless" or "peeled skin" safari – from Swahili journey, ultimately from Arabic sambo – Fula sambo meaning "uncle" sangoma – from Zulu – "traditional healer" (often used in South African English) shea – A tree and the oil Shea butter which comes from its seeds, comes from its name in Bambara tango – probably from Ibibio tilapia – possibly a Latinization of "tlhapi", the Tswana word for "fish" tsetse – from a Bantu language (Tswana tsetse, Luhya ) ubuntu – Nguni term for "mankind, humanity", in South Africa since the 1980s also used capitalized, Ubuntu, as the name of a philosophy or ideology of "human kindness" or "humanism" uhuru – from Swahili, "freedom". Ujamaa – from Swahili, "fraternity". Socialist policies of Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere. vodou – from West African languages (Ewe and Fon vodu "spirit") vuvuzela – musical instrument, name of Zulu or Nguni origin yam – West African (Fula nyami, Twi anyinam) zebra – of unknown origin, recorded since c. 1600, from Portuguese ‘ezebro’, used of an Iberian animal, in turn possibly ultimately from Latin ‘equiferus’, but a Congolese language, or alternatively Amharic have been put forward as possible origins Zimbabwe – from Shona, "house of stones" or "venerated houses" zombie – likely from West African (compare Kikongo zumbi "fetish", but alternatively derived from Spanish sombra "shade, ghost"
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