Did you know that 'zombie' is actually Kikongo?

'Zombie' is a word borrowed from Kikongo 'zumbi'. The word entered the English language some time around 1871.

zombie [noun] [circa 1871]

• a person held to resemble the so-called walking dead
• automaton
• a mixed drink made of several kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice

See 'zombie' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Kikongo.

Etymology: Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole 'zonbi' of Bantu origin; akin to Kimbundu 'nzúmbe' ghost

See more loan words from 1800s.