List of English words of African origin

banana West African, possibly Wolof banana

bogus Hausa boko-boko meaning fake or fraudulent

bongo West African boungu

bozo stupid, West African

boogie Wolof or Sierra Leone, to dance

buckra from Efik and Ibibio mbakara "white man or person"[1]

chigger possibly from Wolof and Yoruba jiga "insect")

chimpanzee The name is derived from a Tshiluba language term "kivili-chimpenze",

which is the local name for the animal and translates loosely as "mockman" or possibly
just "ape".[2]

cola from West African languages (Temne kola, Mandinka kolo)

dig, in sense of understand or appreciate from Wolof dega

djembe from West African languages

hip from Wolof hipi and hepicat, one with eyes open[dubious discuss]

jazz from West African languages (Mandinka jasi, Temne yas)

jive possibly from Wolof jev

juke, jukebox possibly from Wolof and Bambara dzug through Gullah

kwashiorkor from Ga language, Coastal Ghana meaning "swollen stomach"

mambo possibly West African through Haitian Creole

Marmbula, plucked musical instrument (lamellophone) of the Caribbean islands

merengue (dance) possibly from Fulani mererek i meaning to shake or quiver

mumbo jumbo- from mandigo name Maamajombo, a masked dancer

mojo from Fula moco'o "medicine man" through Louisiana Creole French or Gullah

obeah from West African (Efik ubio, Twi ebayifo)

okay disputed origins, likely influenced by Wolof waw-kay [3]

okra from Igbo kr

samba from an African language through Brazilian Portuguese[4][5][6]

sambo Fula sambo meaning "uncle"

tango probably from Ibibio tamgu

tote West African via Gullah

voodoo from West African languages (Ewe and Fon vodu "spirit")

yam West African (Fula nyami, Twi anyinam)

Words of Bantu origin

banjo probably Bantu mbanza

basenji breed of dog from the Congo

boma probably from Swahili

bwana from Swahili, meaning an important person or safari leader

chimpanzee Bantu chimpenze, from nchima ("blue monkey") and mzee "respectable
gentleman" [clarification needed]

dengue possibly from Swahili dinga

fundi from Ndebele, Xhosa, or Zulu umfundi "disciple, learner, craftsman"

funk from kikongo lu-fuki "bad body odor"

gnu from Bushman !nu through Khoikhoi i-ngu and Dutch gnoe

goober possibly from Bantu (Kikongo and Kimbundu nguba)

gumbo from Bantu (Kimbundu ngombo meaning "okra")

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)

jumbo from Swahili (jambo or jumbe or from Kongo nzamba "elephant")

kalimba

Kwanzaa from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits".

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 (Kimbundu and Swahili marimba, malimba)

okapi from a language in the Congo

safari from Swahili travel, ultimately from Arabic

sangoma from Zulu traditional healer (often used in South African English)

Tilapia Possibly a latinization "thiape", the Tswana word for fish.[7]

tsetse from a Bantu language (Tswana tsetse, Luhya tsiisi)

ubuntu African ideology, from the saying "umuntu ngumuntu ngaBantu" "a human is
a human through humans" Bantu languages

vuvuzela musical instrument, name of Zulu or Nguni origin

zebra possibly from a language in the Congo

zombie Central African (Kikongo zumbi, Kimbundu nzambi)