cola – from some Niger–Congo language. The kola plant, famous for its nut, or one of these nuts. Also: A beverage or a drink made with kola nut flavoring, caramel and carbonated water.
aboma – from Fanteaboma ("large constricting snake"). Any of the large South American serpents from the genus Boa or related genera.
kente – from Twi. A type of fabric made of interwoven cloth strips, native to Ghana.
kwashiorkor – from Gakwàṣìɔkɔ́ ("the sickness the older child gets when the next baby is born"). A form of malnutrition, found in children, caused by dietary insufficiency of protein in combination with a high carbohydrate diet.
shito – from a Ga word meaning "pepper". A spicy Ghanaian sauce made with seafood, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, and spices.
akonting – from Jola-Fonyi. The folk lute of the Jola people of West Africa.
azawakh - possibly from Fula. A breed of dog from West and North Africa
banana – from Wolofbanaana ("banana") via Spanish or Portuguese. An elongated curved tropical fruit that grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
chigger – from earlier chigoe, possibly from Wolof or Yorubajiga ("insect"). A small tropical flea.[1]
fonio – from Wolof foño. A cereal cultivated in Western Africa.
khaya – from Wolof khaye ("African mahogany tree"). Any tree of the genus Khaya.
mbalax – from a Wolof word meaning "rhythm". A genre of popular dance music chiefly performed in Senegal and The Gambia.
nitta – from Fula nétě, from Mandinka. A tropical tree that has edible pods and seeds.
thieboudienne – from Wolof ceebu jën via French thiéboudiène. A traditional dish from Senegal, consisting of fish and rice with tomato sauce.
xalam – from Wolof. A traditional lute-like string instrument of West Africa.
abakwetha – from Xhosaabakwetha. A young Xhosa man undergoing the ritual initiation in to manhood.
agogwe – from Kuriaagogwe. A purported small human-like biped reported from the forests of East Africa.
akalat – from Buluakalat. Any of several species of African birds in the genus Sheppardia.
amafufunyana – from Zulu. In Zulu and Xhosa culture, a mental disorder in which the sufferer is believed to have been possessed by evil spirits, causing hysteria.
amasi, maas – from Zulu amasi ("curdled or soured milk"). Fermented milk that tastes like cottage cheese or plain yogurt.
askari – from Swahiliaskari ("soldier"). A member of a local African military or police unit, usually one serving in a European colonial force.
basenji – from Lingala. A breed of dog from Central Africa.
banjo – perhaps from Bantu mbanza.[2] A stringed instrument.
bao – from Swahili bao ("board; goal; board game"). A mancala board game played in East Africa.
bongo – probably from Lokeleboungu, via American Spanish bongó.[3] A pair of small drums.
boma – from Swahili boma. An enclosure usually made of thorn bushes, and latterly of steel fencing, for protection from marauders.
bwana – from Swahili bwana ("master"), from Arabic. A big boss, important person.
chama – from Swahili chama ("organization; society"). An informal cooperative society, usually for pooling and investing savings.
chikungunya – from Makondechikungunya ("that which bends up", referring to the arthritic effects of the disease). A viral fever caused by the Chikungunya virus, an alphavirus spread by mosquito bites.
chimpanzee – from some Bantu language, possibly Vilici-mpenzi. A great ape of the genus Pan, native to Africa, and believed by biologists to be the closest extant relative to humans.[4]
dengue – possibly from Swahili dinga ("sudden attack; seizure") via Spanish. An acute febrile mosquito-borne tropical disease.
duppy – from Bubedupe ("ghost"). A Caribbean ghost or spirit, often appearing in the form of a dog barking or howling through the night.
gacaca – from Kinyarwanda. A system of community justice inspired by Rwandan tradition, used more recently in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
gqom – from Zulu. A minimalistic style of house music from South Africa.
gumbo – from Bantu ngombo, kingombo ("okra plant"). A soup or stew made with okra.
hakuna matata – from Swahili hakuna matata ("there are no worries"). A phrase meaning "no worries; take it easy". Popularized by Disney's The Lion King.
harambee – from Swahili harambee ("let's pull together!"). A traditional Kenyan community self-help event or organization.
imbabala – from some Bantu language. A bushbuck, Tragelaphus sylvaticus, one of two species, ranging more into southern and eastern Africa than the other species, the harnessed bushbuck.
impala – from Zulu impala. An African antelope, Aepyceros melampus, noted for its leaping ability; the male has ridged, curved horns.
impi – from Zulu impi ("war, battle, army"). A group of Zulu (or other Bantu) warriors; a detachment of armed men.
indaba – from Zulu indaba ("matter, issue, affair") A tribal conference held by Nguni leaders.
indlamu – from Zulu indlamu. A traditional Zulu dance from South Africa in which the dancer lifts one foot over the head and brings it down hard, landing squarely on the downbeat.
inDuna – from Zulu induna ("male animal; headman"). A South African tribal councillor or headman (under the king); someone in authority, a boss.
inyanga – from Zulu] inyanga ("moon; month"). A traditional Zulu doctor or healer.
isibongo – from Zulu isibongo ("surname; clan name"). A complimentary metonym used to describe members of a Zulu clan.
jenga – from Swahili jenga ("to build, construct"). A game where players try to remove a block from a tower of wooden blocks without toppling the tower.
jumbo – from the name of Jumbo, a large elephant, from Swahili jambo ("hello") and jumbe ("chief"). Very large or powerful.
jumbie – from Kongo zumbi ("fetish"). A Caribbean ghost or evil spirit.
kabaka – from Lugandaakabaka. The title of the king of Buganda.
kadogo – from Swahili kadogo ("little one"). A child soldier, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
kanga – from Swahili kanga ("kanga; guinea fowl"). A colourful printed cotton garment worn by women in East Africa.
kanzu – from Swahili kanzu. A white or cream-coloured robe worn by men in the African Great Lakes region.
kikoi – from Swahili kikoi. A traditional rectangle of woven cloth originating from eastern Africa.
kgosi – from Tswanakgosi. A tribal chief among the Tswana people of southern Africa.
kgotla – from Tswana kgotla. Any of several types of public meetings in a Botswana village, especially involving a gathering of tribal elders; also the place where such a meeting is held.
kongamato – from a Kaonde word meaning "breaker of boats". A pterosaur-like cryptid of Africa.
kongoni – from Swahili kongoni ("gnu; hartebeest; topi") A type of hartebeest from East Africa.
konzo – from Yaka. An epidemic paralytic disease associated with excessive consumption of cassava, which contains cyanide.
kwacha – from Chichewakwacha ("it has dawned"). The name of the currency of Malawi and Zambia.
kwela – from Zulu -khwela ("get up"). A style of music, first played in the townships, whose principal instrument is the penny whistle.
lechwe – from Tswana, or from Sotholetsa ("antelope"). Kobus leche, an African antelope that inhabits marshy regions.
lekgotla – from Tswana lekgotla ("a public place where consultation and judicial proceedings are conducted"). A consultative process between groups pursuing a common goal.
likembe – from Lingala likembé. A musical instrument found in sub-Saharan Africa; a kind of lamellophone.
lilangeni – from Swazililangeni. The currency of Swaziland.
lobola – from Xhosa, Zulu lobola. The bride price among certain Bantu peoples of South Africa.
loti – from Sotho loti ("mountain"). The basic monetary unit of the currency of the Kingdom of Lesotho.
macumba – from Kimbundu makôba. A religious cult, having elements of sorcery, ritual dance and fetishes, from Brazil.
mandazi – from Swahili mandaazi. A form of fried bread from eastern Africa.
mahewu – from Zulu amaHewu. A sour beverage from Africa, made from cornmeal.
makoro – from Tswana makoro. A dugout canoe, especially as used in the Okavango Swamps of Botswana.
makossa – from a Duala word meaning ("I dance"). A music genre from Cameroon, with a strong bass rhythm and prominent horn section.
mamba – from Zulu imamba. Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.
marabunta – from Kimbundu marimbonda ("Sceliphron spirifex"). The name of several large wasps known for their painful stings.
marimba – from some Bantu language, perhaps Kimbundu marimba ("xylophone"). A musical instrument similar to a xylophone but clearer in pitch.
matatu – from Swahili matutu ("three"), based on the original price of three shillings. A privately-owned minibus serving as share taxis.
matoke – from Luganda matooke. Mashed boiled bananas or plantains, a staple food in Uganda.
mbaqanga – from Zulu mbaqanga. A style of South African music, with rural Zulu roots and a jazz influence, that originated in the 1960s.
mbube – from Zulu umbube ("lion"). A style of a cappella choral music originating among the Zulus of South Africa.
mbuna – from Tongambuna ("cichlid"). One of a group of haplochromine cichlids from Lake Malawi.
mganga – from Swahili mganga. An African witch doctor.
miombo – from Bembamiombo. Any tree of the genus Brachystegia.
mopane – from Tswana mopane. A tree, Colophospermum mopane, native to southern Africa.
moqueca – from Kimbundu mukeka. A Brazilian stew based on fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cilantro.
motlopi – from Tswana motlopi. An evergreen tree native to southern and tropical Africa, Boscia albitrunca; one of the most important forage trees of the Kalahari.
mpingo – from Swahili mpingo ("ebony tree"}. A small African tree in the family Fabaceae.
msasa – from Shona musasa. A tree of Central Africa, Brachystegia spiciformis.
muti – from Zulu umuthi. ("tree, wood, medicine"). Traditional Southern African medicine.
mwenge – from Luganda omwenge. An alcoholic drink of Uganda, made with fermented bananas and sorghum.
mvule – from Swahili mvule. A tropical African tree yielding iroko wood.
mzee – from Swahili mzee. An honorific for elders.
mzungu – from Swahili mzungu ("wanderer"). A white person in East Africa.
nagana – from Zulu ulunakane, unakane. A disease of vertebrates in southern Africa, characterised by swelling and lethargy and caused by trypanosomes transmitted by tsetse flies.
nkisi – from Kongo nkisi ("spirit, charm"). A spirit, or an object inhabited by a spirit, in Bantu religious beliefs.
nyala – probably from Tsonganyala. A southern African antelope, Tragelaphus angasii.
quilombo – from Kimbundu kilombo. A remote, inland settlement originally settled by fugitive slaves (or others).
rungu – from Swahili rungu. A wooden throwing club or baton used in certain East African tribal cultures.
sadza – from Shona sadza. A cooked, pulverized grain meal (stiff porridge) that is the staple food in Zimbabwe.
sangoma – from Zulu isangoma. A South African witch doctor, traditional herbalist, or traditional healer.
shongololo – from Xhosa, Zulu ukushonga ("to roll up"). A millipede.
safari – from Swahili safari ("journey"), from Arabic. A trip into any undeveloped area to see, photograph or hunt wild animals in their own environment.
shweshwe – from Sotho seShoeshoe, named after Moshoeshoe I. A patterned South African fabric.
tilapia – a latinization of Tswana tlhapi ("fish"). Any of various edible fish, of the genus Tilapia, native to Africa and the Middle East but naturalized worldwide.
toyi-toyi – from Northern Ndebele and Shona. A dance from southern Africa, used especially during political protests.
tsetse – from Tswana tsêtsê. Any fly of the genus Glossina, native to Africa, that feeds on human and animal blood; known primarily as a carrier of parasitic trypanosomes.
ubuntu – from Xhosa, Zulu ubuntu. A South African ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other.
umqombothi – from Xhosa. A beer made from maize, maize malt, sorghum malt, yeast and water, commonly found in South Africa.
vuvuzela – from Zulu vuvuzela ("to make a vu vu noise"). A trumpet-shaped horn, now usually plastic, that produces a loud buzzing sound.
zombie – from some Bantu language. A person, usually undead, animated by unnatural forces (such as magic), with no soul or will of his/her own.
