The List of African words in Jamaican Patois notes down as many loan words in Jamaican Patois that can be traced back to specific African languages

African languages

There are over 2100 and by some counts over 3000 languages spoken natively in Africa in several major language families:*Afro-Asiatic spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel...

. Most of these African words have arrived in Jamaica through the African slaves that were transported there in the era of the Atlantic slave trade

Atlantic slave trade

The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...

.

Akan language

Akan language

Akan, also known as Twi and Fante, is an Akan language that is the principal native language of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of that country, by about 52% of the population, and to a lesser extent across the border in eastern Côte d'Ivoire...

anansi: "spider", also from Ewe

Ewe language

Ewe is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately six million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe, spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and parts of Benin. Other Gbe languages include Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and Aja...

adru: a medicinal herb
dopi, dupi: "ghost"
doti: "ground"
fufu

Fufu

Fufu, , is a staple snack of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste usually made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached...

: type of food, also from Ewe and Yoruba

Yoruba language

Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...

cocobay: from kokobé, "leprosy"
kongkos: "gossip"
mumu: "dumb", "stupid", also from Ewe and Mende

Mende language

Mende is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone....

nana: "grandparent"
odum: a kind of tree
poto-poto: "mud", "muddy", also from Igbo, Kongo

Kongo language

The Kongo language, or Kikongo, is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo and Bandundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language and formed the base for Kituba, a Bantu creole and lingua franca...

 and Yoruba
se: "quote follows", also from Igbo

Igbo language

Igbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin...

 sị and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 say.

Ewe language

Ewe language

Ewe is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately six million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe, spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and parts of Benin. Other Gbe languages include Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and Aja...

akara: type of food, also from Igbo and Yoruba
anansi: "spider", also from Akan
fufu: type of food, also from Twi and Yoruba

Yoruba language

Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...

mumu: "dumb", also from Akan and Mende

Igbo language

Igbo language

Igbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin...

akara: from àkàrà, type of food, also from Ewe and Yoruba
attoo: from átú, "chewing stick"
awo, awoh: from ewo, ewoh, an expression.
big-eye: via Gullah

Gullah language

Gullah is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...

 "big eye" from Igbo "anya ukwu", "greedy"
country Ibo: from Ibo, Igbo, Pluchea odorata

Pluchea odorata

Pluchea odorata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae, that is native to the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Common names include Sweetscent, Salt Marsh Fleabane, and Shrubby Camphorweed. It inhabits wetlands and other...

de, deh: from dị, "is"
himba: from mba, "yam root", a type of yam

Yam (vegetable)

Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...

, Rajania cordata
obeah

Obeah

Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...

: from ọbiạ, "doctoring", "mysticism"
okra

Okra

Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins...

: from ọkwurụ, a vegetable
poto-poto: "mud", "muddy", also from Akan
red Ibo, Eboe: from Igbo, a person with a light skin colour and African features
se: from sị, "quote follows", also from Akan se and English say
soso: "only", also from Yoruba(?)
unu: from únù, "you (plural)"

Kongo language

Kongo language

The Kongo language, or Kikongo, is the Bantu language spoken by the Bakongo and Bandundu people living in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Angola. It is a tonal language and formed the base for Kituba, a Bantu creole and lingua franca...

dingki: funeral ceremony
djumbi: "ghost"
pinda: "peanut"
poto-poto: "mud", "muddy", also from Akan, Igbo and Yoruba

Yoruba language

Yoruba language

Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...

akara: type of food, also from Ewe and Igbo
fufu: type of food, also from Akan and Ewe
poto-poto: "mud", "muddy", also from Akan, Igbo and Kongo
soso: "only", also from Igbo