zumbin.
/ˈzuːmbi/, /zuːmˈbiː/, U.S. /ˈzumbi/, /zumˈbi/, Caribbean English /ˈzuːmbi/, /zuːmˈbiː/, West African English /ˈzumbi/, /zumˈbi/ Chiefly in West and South-west African (esp. Angolan) contexts: the ghost or spirit of a dead person, esp. a malevolent one. Occasionally also Caribbean in later use; cf. zombie n. 1, jumbie n., duppy n.In quot. 2021 in historical context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > ghost or phantom > [noun]
soulOE
huea1000
ghostOE
fantasyc1325
spiritc1350
phantomc1384
phantasmc1430
haunterc1440
shadowa1464
appearance1488
wraith1513
hag1538
spoorn1584
vizarda1591
life-in-death1593
phantasma1598
umbra1601
larve1603
spectre1605
spectrum1611
apparitiona1616
shadea1616
shapea1616
showa1616
idolum1619
larva1651
white hat?1693
zumbi1704
jumbie1764
duppy1774
waff1777
zombie1788
Wild Huntsman1796
spook1801
ghostie1810
hantua1811
preta1811
bodach1814
revenant1823
death-fetch1826
sowlth1829
haunt1843
night-bat1847
spectrality1850
thivish1852
beastie1867
ghost soul1869
barrow-wight1891
resurrect1892
waft1897
churel1901
comeback1908
1704 tr. G. Merolla Voy. Congo ii, in A. Churchill & J. Churchill Coll. Voy. I. 741/2 They prevent the Soul of the dead Person from coming to give the Zumbi [It. li Zumbi] to any of the future Inhabitants.
1876 R. F. Burton Two Trips Gorilla Land II. 124 There was no danger of the Zumbi, or ghost.
1882 A. Elwes tr. H. C. de B. Capello & R. Ivens From Benguella to Yacca I. 26 A libation..to the zumbi or n'zumbi of the other world, by and with whom they always deem themselves surrounded and connected.
1962 H. Norris Jamaica ii. 16 Evil spirits, bugubugumen, zumbies, populate the Jamaican countryside.
2021 K. Kananoja Healing Knowl. in Atlantic Afr. i. 41 The patients duly offered a banquet to appease the zumbi.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1704