War, law & rule

zombie

A Kimbundu word for a restless spirit crossed the Atlantic with enslaved Central Africans and became the zonbi of Haitian belief and the Zumbi of Brazil's Palmares; Hollywood made it a walking corpse in the 1930s, and American films carried that zombie around the world.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to American English

From Kimbundu to Brazilian Portuguese

From Kimbundu to Haitian Creole, French

From American English to German

From American English to Spanish

From American English to Japanese

From American English to Korean

From American English to Russian

1650Kimbundu

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to American English

From Kimbundu to Haitian Creole, French

Export “zombie”

Embed “zombie”

Save “zombie”

Export “zombie”

Embed “zombie”

Save “zombie”