Gumbo: Derived from various Bantu dialects (Southern & Central Africa) terms for okra (i.e. quingumbo, grugombo, gumbo, gombo, ngombo gomboaud, ngumbo, ochinggombo).
Gumbo is often cited as an example of the melting-pot nature of Louisiana cooking, but trying to sort out the origins and evolution of the dish is highly speculative. The name derives from a West African word for okra, suggesting that gumbo was originally made with okra. The use of filé (dried and ground sassafras leaves) was a contribution of the Choctaws and, possibly, other local tribes. Roux has its origin in French cuisine, although the roux used in gumbos is much darker than its Gallic cousins.
One of the things I love about the U.S is its’ cultural diversity/expressiveness, though we don’t celebrate it properly all of the time.
Words of Africa Origin
The books are Newbell Niles Puckett’s Black Names in America: Origins and Usage, which was published in 1975; Winifred Kellersberger Vass’ The Bantu Speaking Heritage of the United States published in 1979; Gerard Matthew Dalgish’s A Dictionary of Africanisms: Contributions of Sub-Saharan Africa to the English Language published in 1982; Joseph E. Holloway’s Africanisms in American Culture published in 1990; and Joseph E Holloway’s and Winifred Kellersberger Vass’ The African Heritage of American English published in 1993.
A distinct feature of the English language is its extensive borrowing from other languages. According to some
sources, only about 30 percent of the vocabulary we use in modern English is derived from the native tongue itself, that is, from Anglo-Saxon—English prior to about 1100. The rest is derived from an amalgam of different languages, leading some to call the English language a “loaned language.”
https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/southern-gumbo-trail/
http://www.translationdirectory.com/glossaries/glossary151.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_African_origin
http://www.taneter.org/moors.html
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-jaz1.htm
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artgumbo.html
https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/a-short-history-of-gumbo/
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