aboma

Any of various other large constrictors, aboma.


te

→ Aukan: te

→ Saramaccan: té


ten

Atleba ten no sa de moro ini Sranan / Den bakra, den ben hori wi na baka / Den de bow den kondre kon na fesi / Meki wi e pina

1975, Mighty Botai (lyrics and music), “Sranang Kong Fri”, in Onafhankelijkheid (Srefidensi) Suriname:

The period of toiling will be no more in Suriname / The Dutch, they held us back / They built up their country successfully / Made us suffer


tutu

horn (bone outgrowth on the head of some mammals)


anu

>? Aukan: ana

money that is paid out to the participants of a kasmoni


son

→ Saramaccan: sónu

From English Sun (from Middle English sunne, from Old English sunne (“sun; the Sun”)) or Dutch zon (from Middle Dutch sonne (“sun”), from Old Dutch sunna), both from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂un-, *sóh₂wl̥.


boy

Alternative form of boi (official spelling)


pata

Dutch: patta


man

A man no ben man taki.


dada

Probably from Ewe dàdá (“aunt”), Gen dadá (“aunt”)


spun

Spun no de.


mama

(figuratively, in compounds) origin, source, centre, basis


du

Probably from Ewe ɖú (“dance”), Fon ɖùwè (“dance”).


fri

Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd, Amsterdam: Pegasus:

Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.


flamingo

Borrowed from Dutch flamingo. (The bird that in English is known as flamingo is known instead as segansi.)

Eudocimus ruber
Eudocimus ruber#Translingual


mope

→ Dutch: mopé

Spondias mombin
Spondias mombin#Translingual


fan

Probably from Ewe ɸā́n (“clear, light”).


don

→ Caribbean Javanese: dong

→ Kari'na: don

→ Saramaccan: dón

Sranan odo: don no abi dresi.

Surinamese proverb: there is no medicine for stupidity.


historia

Learned borrowing from Latin historia, from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía). Doublet of tori.


oni

Apis mellifera
Apis mellifera#Translingual


odo

→ Dutch: odo


sa

A saw (tool with a serrated blade, used for sawing).


bere

Aukan: bee

Saramaccan: bë́ë


abo

eine Art Hirse, Babylonische Hirse genannt.

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

a type of millet called Babylonian millet.


lo

From English row, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rōaną (“to row”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”).

da boto habi aiti lo


lo

From English row, ultimately probably from Proto-Germanic *raiwō, *raigwō, *raih- (“row, streak, line”), from Proto-Indo-European *reyk- (“to carve, scratch, etch”).

der

Dem práni álla na wan ro

1855, Hendrik Charles Focke, Neger-Engelsch woordenboek [Negro English Dictionary], Leiden: P.H. van den Heuvell:

heute ist schon wieder eine andre Bande Neger angekommen.

Yet another gang of Negroes arrived today.

eine Heerde, ein Zug, Schwarm wilde Schweine.

(obsolete) herd, pack, a (a group of animals)


lo

fr:Journal des africanistes
fr:Société des africanistes
nl:Pieter Muysken

Probably from Ewe hlɔ̃ (“revenge; group of (maternal) relatives responsible for exacting revenge, clan”). Cognate of Saramaccan lɔ́, Aukan ló.


bana

Possibly from Anyi bana or from English banana or Portuguese banana, both possibly from Wolof banaana (“banana”). Cognate of Aukan baana.


brada

→ Dutch: brada


dun

Probably from Ewe dūn (“stare, unmoving gaze”).

Signifies astonishment, bewilderment, stupefaction


span

→ Dutch: no spang


todo

A nyan switi no todo.

With the particle no, used as an intensifier, particularly for switi.


aka

medium to large bird of prey; hawk, eagle, etc.


maka

Compare Jamaican Creole macca, Jamaican Creole macka.


mofo

Aukan: mofu


oso

→ Dutch: osso

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-?
Proto-Indo-European *-s?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English houseder.
Sranan Tongo oso
From earlier hoso, from English house.


sonde

From English Sunday, equivalent to son + dei.


agama

From a Gbe language; compare Ewe agama (“chameleon”).


asi

ace (playing card marked with "A", having one icon)


gitara

Borrowed from Dutch gitaar or from English guitar.


boda

Probably borrowed from Spanish boda or less likely from Portuguese boda.


flet

From Dutch flit, a genericized use of the brand name FLIT.


stari

Aukan: sitali

From English star. Likely a late borrowing, as st- typically simplifies to t- in words of English origin (see tan, tori, tiki).


meti

Aukan: meti


plafon

Borrowed from Dutch plafond, from French plafond.


iri

Probably a borrowing from Dutch hiel. The other creole languages have terms corresponding to bakafutu.


boyo

a sweet cake made of grated cassava (manioc) and cocos


foto

Aukan: foto

Saramaccan: fóto

From English fort and Dutch fort, both from Middle French fort (“strong”) .Originally, this word meant "fort" and specifically referred to Fort Zeelandia, but since Fort Zeelandia and Parimaribo are closely connected, the meaning was transferred to the later. Nowadays, it can refer to any town.

En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.

c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe [Book of horrors]”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:

And all our forefathers of the olden days were African negroes from negro-country. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.

Di a kon sabi taki Elisa ben de na ini a foto Dotan, a seni a legre fu Siria fu go teki en.

2022, “Moi les di yu kan leri fu Bijbel”, in Yehovah Kotoigi [Jehovah's Witnesses], Les 52: Wan bigi legre di de leki faya:

When he found out that Elisha was in the city of Dothan, he sent an army from Syria to capture him.

Ef mi ben sab pe joe grebi de, / mi gran afo, di krodong tjari / kon na Sranan, / so farawe fjoe eegi doti, / biten tédei, Manspasidei / psa hondro jari di keti koti, / mi ben sa saka libi foto, / mi ben sa pari mi eegi boto / f'kon saka kiendie na joe sei.

1974 June 29, Fred W. Omskirk Sr., “Manspasi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

If I knew where your grave was, my grand ancestor, whom forced labour / brought to Suriname / so far away from your own native soil, / early today, Emancipation Day / hundred years after the chains were broken, / I would have left the city, / I would have paddled my own boat / to come and kneel by your side.


swa

Compare Saramaccan suwá and Aukan suwa. Likely from English sour.


lawman

From the same root as law but with the suffix -man.


barba

Aukan: baiba

Wan dei Anansi ben koiri ini a busi. Dan di ai koiri a si wan sani di noiti a ben si bifo: wan ston di abi barba.

2002, SIL, “Anansi nanga a ston san abi barba”, in Languages of Suriname, Sranan Tongo Library:


boi

(colloquial) thing (compare similar use of English guy)


santa

Borrowed from Portuguese santa or less probably Spanish santa.


kado

Borrowed from Dutch cadeau, from French cadeau.


uma

From English woman. Compare Antigua and Barbuda Creole English uman, Aukan uman and Krio uman.


koto

→ Dutch: koto


doro

Tra sani di temreman ben e meki, na sani soleki tafra, sturu, bangi, nanga kisi pe sma ben poti sani na ini, èn sosrefi sani soleki doro, fensre, udu sroto, nanga postu fu poti na a plafon.

2008, “Yu ben sabi a sani disi?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Other things that the carpenter used to make were things such as tables, chairs, benches, and boxes where people put things into, as well as such items as doors, windows, wooden locks, and beams to put on the ceiling.


oli

Probably borrowed from Dutch olie (“oil”).

petrol (UK), gas (US), or another fuel used for motorised vehicles


kanari

violaceous euphonia
violaceous euphonia#English


gogo

Probably from Ewe agɔgó (“buttock”), Fon gògó (“buttock”).

Saka nanga a gogo / dan wi e lolo nanga a baka

2003, Aptijt (lyrics and music), “Boeke (Radio Versie)”, in Boeke:


awari

Borrowed from an indigenous language; compare Kari'na aware, Trió aware, Wayana awale, Akawaio aware, Pemon aware, Ye'kwana yawade / dhawade, Lokono jaware, Yanomamö aware.


liba

Ei Selecta, mi granmama ben leri mi altèit, "no kosi kaiman fosi abra liba, boi".

2011, Selectabeats, Kayente (lyrics and music), “Djoegoe Djoegoe”:

Hey Selecta, my grandmother always taught me: "don't curse the caiman before crossing the river, boy"


sula

→ Dutch: soela

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like rainfall it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but the cloudburst will come


kel

→ Dutch: kill

Nana: Misi libi mi nanga tori foe Frits p'pa; efi mi prakseri fa mi lasi na beste ten foe mi libi, nanga na kel.

c. 1950, Sophie Redmond, “Datra Papa [A doctor's father]”, in Thea Doelwijt, editor, Kri, kra! Proza van Suriname [Kri, kra! Prose from Suriname], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1972, page 115:

Nana: Madam, let me be with the matter of Frits's dad. If I just think about how I waisted the best years of my life with that guy...

‘Blub, hik, sorry man, ei Arnie, pe y' ben de yongu, m' e suk' i no moer man; pe a meid Sastro de man, mi lob' a sma, yongu, wan f' den kel go vandoor nang' a sma k'ba natuurlijk. (...)’

1985, Paul Marlee, Proefkonijn, Paramaribo: Uitgeverij De Volksboekwinkel, →ISBN, page 99:

'Glub, hiccup, sorry, man, hey Arnie, where have you been, man, I've been looking all over for you; where's that girl Sastro, man, I love that girl, man, one of the guys already went off with her, obviously. (...)'


buru

desc

→ Caribbean Javanese: bulman, bulmang, buru

→ Dutch: boeroe

A white Surinamese person of Dutch descent, in particular a descendant of nineteenth-century agricultural settlers.


yuru

→ Caribbean Hindustani: yuru

→ Caribbean Javanese: yuru


biri

Aukan: bii

Saramaccan: bíi

→ Kari'na: biri

Now di Sranan e meki en biri / ala tra biri kan tan tiri

c. 1955, Eddy Vervuurt (lyrics and music), “Lied [Parbo-Mambo]”performed by Orkest Eddy Vervuurt and Big Jones:

Now that Suriname is making its own beer / all other beers can keep quiet


tere

Aukan: tee

Di a dagoe kisi meti a seki en tere.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 39:

When the dog gets meat he wags his tail.


neki

Aukan: neki


bradi

A bradi fu a pasi.


mati

Aukan: mati

Ndyuka-Trio Pidgin: mati

→ Dutch: mattie

→ Kari'na: mati

Borrowed from Dutch maat and/or English mate.

(slang, euphemistic) woman in a lesbian relationship


kuli

Gwe yu skôyer! Mi no e trow nanga no wan kuli

1976, Suky Akkal (lyrics and music), “Kapharia Ke Leb”, in The Tropical Mood:

Go away, you beggar! I'm not going to marry a coolie

(derogatory, offensive) coolie; an Indian-Surinamese person, a Surinamese person of Indian descent.


susu

Probably a reduplication of English shoe.


tori

From English story. Doublet of historia. Compare Nigerian Pidgin tori.

Mi no ben kan tan arki den betiyesi tori fu Basedi, bika na bigisma no ben lobi te pikinnengre mofo e warsi na ini en tori efu den bradi den yesimama e arki.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi [A piece of life]”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 256:

I couldn't stay to listen to the ear-catching stories of Master Edi, because the old man didn't like it when children's mouths wandered into his tale if they had stretched their eardrums and were listening in.

Èn san na tori fu kokobe? Son tron wan man teigi yu wan sani yu no e bribi, ma a momenti a taki kokobe yu e bribi dirèkt.

2014, Roué Verveer, 4:23 from the start, in Buitenvrouw, Puuree/Roue Verveer:

And what's the deal with kokobe? Sometimes you don't believe something someone is telling you, but the moment they say kokobe, you believe it instantly.


asema

Possibly from Fon azema (“vampire”), equivalent to ase + -man. Cf. Saramaccan azéma.

A vampire who has the appearance of an elderly person during the day and hides his or her skin at night when out for blood.


bubu

Probably from Kongo m-bùubu (“dread, something dreadful, darkness”). Compare Aukan bubu (“jaguar”) and Saramaccan bubú (“jaguar”).


kamra

Aukan: kambaa

Saramaccan: kámba

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kamra


bosi

From English buss, of uncertain origin. Compare southern German Bussi which may or may not be related.


feti

→ Dutch: fittie


beti

From English bite; sense “bait” possibly from or influenced by English bait (which is itself a doublet of bite).


bebe

Probably from Fon gbɛ̀gbɛ́-tín (“Pterocarpus tree”).


strati

→ Aukan: sitaati, strati

→ Caribbean Hindustani: stráti

→ Saramaccan: sitááti


karton

Borrowed from Dutch karton, from French carton.


yesi

A bom sutu so tranga taki a broko mi yesimama. Furu yari langa mi no ben man yere bun, ma te fu kaba mi yesi kon betre baka.

2007, “Yehovah kibri wi libi na a ten fu den ogri-ati tirimakti”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

The bomb exploded so loudly that it broke my eardrums. For many years I couldn't hear well, but in the end my ears healed again.


heiman

very important person
very important person


brede

Aukan: beele

Saramaccan: bëë́ë

→ Kari'na: perere


karta

Borrowed from Portuguese carta or Dutch kaart.


sensi

(numismatics) cent (a subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main unit of currency, such as the former Surinamese guilder and the current Surinamese dollar)


tanta

Borrowed from Dutch tante. Cf. Aukan tanto.


doti

From English dirt, dirty and possibly Akan dɔte (“earth, clay, soil, dust”). Compare Jamaican Creole dutty.

da djari habi bunne dotti

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

a mindri liba / d'e drai tron wan kolkoe / a mi ati lanpe / e broko mi djodjo / saka gi doti

1962, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “winti [Wind]”, in soela, Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 13:

The middle of the river / that revolves into becoming a whirlpool / at my heart's landing / brings down my guardian spirit / for the earth

Sonte prakseri de a neti / Mi tu ai trowe watra / A tapu na doti pe mi nanga yu / Pe mi nanga yu ben bosi, brasa

1974, Lieve Hugo (lyrics and music), “Blaka Rosoe”, in Lieve Hugo – King Of Kasèko:

There might be memories at night / Both my eyes shed tears / Onto the very ground where me and you / Where me and you kissed, embraced

Mi de go na mi dótti

1855, Hendrik Charles Focke, Neger-Engelsch woordenboek [Negro English Dictionary], Leiden: P.H. van den Heuvell:

1974 June 29, Fred W. Omskirk Sr., “Manspasi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:


basi

bark (of a tree), shell (of a nut or coconut)


spari

Porcupine River stingray (Potamotrygon hystrix)


dosu

→ Lokono: dosu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: dosu


alen

From English rain. For the initial vowel, compare alata from English or Dutch rat and aleisi from Dutch rijs.

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come


pingo

Borrowed from a Cariban language, ultimately from Proto-Cariban *pôinôkô; possible direct sources include Kari'na pyinko, poinko and Yao (South America) pingo.

wan lo pingo

white-lipped peccary
white-lipped peccary

Tayassu pecari
Tayassu pecari#Translingual


tabaka

From English tobacco and/or Dutch tabak, both from Spanish tabaco.

tabakka hati nussu

Kaptein sidǫ' tiri, dɛn a nyąm ala na nyąm baka. Na baka dɑti, a puri bɩgi pipa nąŋga Amer'ką tabaka, ɛn a bɩgɩn smoko te a i drųŋgu.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 240:

The captain sat down quietly, and again ate all the food. After that, he powdered a large pipe with American tobacco, and he began to smoke until he was drunk.

Wan takru sortu kosokoso di no abi kaba a ben gwenti e kisi. Ala yuru wan pikin pisi tabaka ben e anga na en mofobuba. Mi ben e kari dati en ‘tabakaworon.’ Te a ben tan, dan a ben ari wan dampu fu na ‘lespeki tabaka.’ Nanga kosokoso a smoko e ari en srefi komopo na ini en gorogoro.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 254:

He used to get a nasty cough that had no end. There was always a piece of tobacco dangling from his lips. I used to call it his ‘tobacco worm.’ He was always puffing at his very strong tobacco. Coughingly, the smoke belched from his throat.

Blakaman e smoko blakatitei / bika na a moro bunkopu tabaka

1994, Albert Helman, Adyosi / Afscheid, Nijmegen: Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, page 64:

Black men smoke black shag / because it is the cheapest tobacco

Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana tabacum#Translingual


dosi

cassava bread with a sweet cocos filling


paisa

From Caribbean Hindustani paisa, from Hindi पैसा (paisā) / Urdu پَیسَہ (paisa).

A wroko mi lobi ma a paisa no bun.

I like the job, but the salary isn't good.


futu

Aukan: futu

Saramaccan: fútu


munde

Adapted from English Monday, equivalent to mun (“moon”) + dei (“day”).


empi

→ Aukan: impi

→ Caribbean Javanese: èmpi

→ Kari'na: empi

→ Saramaccan: hémpi


alata

From English rat or borrowed from Spanish rata, or less likely Dutch rat. For the initial vowel, compare alen from English rain and aleisi from Dutch rijs.


barki

Luku 'a sprɛ̨ŋki na yu fesi, ma no luku na barki na yu birmą ai̯.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 470:

Look at the mote on your face, but don't look at the beam in your neighbour's eye.

Owru foto ben abi hey skotu èn kofarliki bigi doro. Fu sroto den doro disi, dan den ben greni den na inisey nanga langa isri ofu brons barki.

1989 April 1, “Na pori fu wan nâsi [The destruction of a nation]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 41:

Old cities had high walls and huge gates. To lock these gates, they bolted them shut on the inside with long iron or bronze bars.


barki

Borrowed from Dutch bark or English barque.


barki

Borrowed from English bargain. Cognate with Saramaccan báíki.

Dagu nąŋga Tigri bɛn meki barki fō nyąm Krabita.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 186:

Dog and Tiger had made a bargain to eat Goat.


barki

→ Dutch: barkie

Unclear, possibly referring to one of the meanings above; compare French bâton (“stick; 10.000 French francs”), Spanish palo (“stake, stick, wood; mast; 1.000.000 in any currency”).

noncog

100 in any currency; (before 1865, obsolete) 100 Dutch guilders; (1865 to 2004, obsolete) 100 Surinamese guilders; (after 2004) 100 Surinamese dollars


bonu

ritual magic, used by a bonuman (medicine man)


aksi

From English aks (“to ask”), now obsolete except dialectally.


republiek

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch republiek.

ubor

Opo mi pikin, opo. J'o tron wan Stari. Wan Stari d'e brenki ini a Firmamenti. En m'o gi joe wan kondre. Wan heri kondre nanga foeroe libisma. En a kondre disi sa nen A njoen Republiek Sranan!

1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 60:

Rise, my child, rise. You will become a star. A star that shines in the firmament. And I will give you a country. A whole country, with many people. And this country will be called: the new Republic of Suriname!

Leki wan bakapisi foe toe grontapoe feti, dan foeroe grontapoe kownoekondre ben trowe na gron èn tra sortoe tirimakti ben teki den presi — republiek, socialistis dictatuur ofoe tra autoritaire tiri.

1983 April 1, “Sortoe sé joe e teki ini na kownoekondrestré-aksi? [Which side are you on regarding the kingdom issue?]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 6:

As a result of two world wars, many of the world's monarchies have been cast aside and other kinds of regime have taken their place – republics, socialist dictatorships or other authoritarian governments.


kra

Lei̯si nąŋga mɔrsu meki yu 'kra gowɛ libi yu.

Laziness and nastiness caused your soul to leave you.

gwe foe Afobaka, go na hé / dan te na sibiboesi krin joe kra / fas joe roetoe tap tafra-bergi lek wan boa / opo wan makti kankantri-sten / gi na njoen Sranan brokodé

1970 March 11, P. Marlee, “Lees: Sranan, moks'alesi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

away from Afobaka, go upwards / until a cloudburst cleanses your soul / fasten your roots on the table mount like a boa / raise a mighty cotton tree voice / for the dawn of the new Suriname

soul, spirit; in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system, a spiritual entity, representing the supreme creator Anana, who determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the world of the living

dyodyo

soul, spirit; a spiritual entity linked to the birthplace of an individual who acts as guardian of this or several individuals

yorka

soul, spirit, ghost; a spiritual entity specific to an individual that can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner


skoro

→ Dutch: skorro

→ Wayana: sikoro


kasaba

Aukan: kasaba

Saramaccan: kasába

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kasaba

Borrowed from Dutch cassave, from French cassave, from Spanish cazabe, from Taíno caçabi.

A krabdagu taki: - Angri e kiri mi ba. A di mi si yu e nyan, ne mi kon.
Adyuku taki: - We san mi e nyan, mi no sabi efu yu sa nyan en. Na kasaba dokun mi tyari. Efu yu sa nyan en, dan mi sa gi yu.

1975, “Basya Adyuku koni”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 86:

The crab-eating raccoon said: 'I'm starving, brother. When I saw that you're eating, I came over immediately.
Adyuku said: 'I say, I don't know whether you'll want to eat what I'm eating. I brought cassava duckanoo. If you'll eat it, then I'll give it to you.


lobi

Aukan: lobi

Saramaccan: lóbi


dokun

Apocopic form of dokunu, possibly from Abé òdúkō (“dish of banana or tuber and sauce”), Twi Akan ɔ-dɔ̀kóno (“boiled maizebread”). Compare English duckanoo, English ducana.

bor

dokkunnu. Klössel (z.B. von Welschkorn, gelber Bananne, Pinda[)]

dokkunnu. Dumpling (e.g. of maize, yellow banana, peanut)

a sweet treat made of grated cassava (manioc) and cocos, wrapped in a banana leaf and then steamed


kaba

Aukan: kaba, kaa

Saramaccan: kabá

Wan takru sortu kosokoso di no abi kaba a ben gwenti e kisi.

He used to get a nasty cough that had no end.


kondre

Wi mu' seti kondre bun

1959, “God zij met ons Suriname”, Henri Frans de Ziel, Cornelis Atses Hoekstra (lyrics), Johannes Corstianus de Puy (music) (overall work in Dutch and Sranan Tongo):


skowtu

Aukan: sikowtu

Saramaccan: sikooútu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: skoutu, skotu

→ Dutch: skotoe

→ Trió: sikoutu


tyari

From English carry. Compare Jamaican Creole chai.


switismeri

From switi (tasty, pleasant) + smeri (smell).


puspusi

Borrowed from Dutch poes, either a reduplicated borrowing or inspired by poes poes.


fesa

→ Dutch: fissa


kerkisma

(Christianity) believer (religious person)


batra

Aukan: bataa

→ Kari'na: patere

bottle, jar (it can be made of glass, earthenware or plastic)


yorka

From Kari'na ijoròkan, ultimately from Proto-Cariban *ijoroko (“evil spirit”) with a suffix; compare Apalaí joroko, Trió joroko, Wayana jolok, Pemon iworok, Ye'kwana Odo'sha, as well as (from non-Cariban languages) Lokono jaloko.

spirit of the deceased; specifically, in the Afro-Surinamese winti belief system, a spiritual entity specific to an individual that can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner, retaining the individual's memories and personality

kra

soul, spirit; a spiritual entity that determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the human world


ambeyri

From Dutch handbijl (hand= hand + bijl= axe).


bribi

Aukan: biibi

Saramaccan: biíbi


lanti

Kwinti: lanti

Saramaccan: lánti

→ Caribbean Javanese: lanti

→ Trió: ranti

From Dutch land (“territory, territorial (colonial) government”).


masra

Baſſia hoe fafi maſtra gi permiſſi fo pree.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], page 107:

Basya, how are you? Did master give permission to play?


wrokosani

Compound of wroko (“work”) + sani (“thing”).


yepi

From earlier herepi, from English help or Dutch helpen. The initial y- may have originated from a glide in connected speech (compare yesi and yuru for a similar development) via the stages herepi (whence Saramaccan heépi) > *erepi > *yerepi (whence Aukan yeepi) followed by syncope of the intermediate syllable.


granman

Aukan: gaaman

Saramaccan: gaama

→ Dutch: granman

paramount chief of a Maroon or Amerindian tribe


grun

Aukan: guun

Saramaccan: guúun

Borrowed from Dutch groen, from Middle Dutch groene, from Old Dutch *gruoni, from Proto-West Germanic *grōnī, from Proto-Germanic *grōniz.


wiwiri

From earlier wirri-wirri, probably from an African language.


watra

Aukan: wataa

Saramaccan: wáta


sisa

From English sister or from Dutch zuster.


snekfisi

Compound of sneki (“snake”) + fisi (“fish”).


ka-olo

→ Dutch: kaolo


prakseri

Borrowed from Dutch prakkiseren (“to ponder”).


opete

Borrowed from Twi Akan ɔpɛtɛ (“vulture”)

Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd, Amsterdam: Pegasus:

Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.


keskesi

Contraction of kesikesi, probably from Ewe kèse (“monkey”).

collective name for several species of smaller monkeys

wedge-capped capuchin
wedge-capped capuchin#English

Cebus olivaceus
Cebus olivaceus#Translingual


keskesi

Contraction of kesikesi, possibly from Kari'na [Term?] and/or Lokono [Term?].

Aratinga solstitialis
Aratinga solstitialis#Translingual


kondreman

From kondre (“country”) + -man, or directly from English countryman.

Opo, kondreman un' opo!


sigara

Borrowed from English cigar or Dutch sigaar.


ede

Aukan: ede

Saramaccan: hédi


noso

Aukan: nosu

Saramaccan: núsu


tra fasi

Tra fasi no de.


pagara

Dutch: pagara

From Kari'na pagala. Cognate of Dutch pagaal. The meaning 'fire cracker string' was acquired because of the similar appearance to the basket in rolled-up form.

Anąnsi teki karu nąŋga alei̯si nąŋga asisi, a pɔti n'ɩn' na pagara.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits en Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 159:

Anansi took the corn, the rice, and the ashes, and put them in the basket.

reddish, quadrilateral water-proof basket with a lid, braided from reed-like strips of warimbo (Ischnosiphon gracilis) with leaves of palulu (Heliconia bihai) in between


adi

corn, clavus (painful hardened area of skin on the feet)


adi

Probably from Ewe and Fon aɖí (“native soap”), Gen àɖǐ (“lye”).

(obsolete) ash of dried banana leaves, used to make lye


dala

(numismatics) a coin or banknote worth 250 cents; a rix-dollar


pikin

Borrowed from Portuguese pequenino, pequeno.


ondrobere

Compound of ondro (“under”) + bere (“belly”).


nyam

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


dagu

Aukan: dagu

Saramaccan: dágu


banku

Shortening of banknotu, from English banknote.


angribere

From angri (“hunger”) + bere (“stomach”).


blesi

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come


gersi

mi a no mi / solanga m' no krari / foe kibri, foe tjari / joe gersi na ini mi djodjo.

c. 1957, Trefossa, gronmama [Earth mother], quoted in Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1977, page 50:

I am not me / as long as I'm not ready / to keep, to carry / your likeness in my soul.


kwata

red-faced spider monkey (Ateles Paniscus)


pinda

Aukan: pinda

→ Wayana: pinta

Saramaccan: pindá

→ Lokono: pinda

→ Caribbean Hindustani: pindá

→ Dutch: pinda

→ West Frisian: pinda

→ Trió: pinta

pinda. Erd-Pistacien, kleine Erdnüsse.

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

pinda. Ground pistachios, small peanuts.


gobi

Probably from Ewe gòó (“gourd, bottle”), Fon gò-ví (“small gourd, bottle”).


omu

Mi go na omu Sneisi / Fu go bai brede / Dan mi o poti botro gi en / Dan mi o poti kasi gi en

1982, R. Jie (lyrics and music), “Ommoe Snesie”, in Cynthia, performed by Conjunto Latinos:

I'm going to uncle Chinese / To buy bread / Then I'll put butter on it / Then I'll put cheese on it


buba

Aukan: buba

Saramaccan: búba

Compare Yoruba bùbá (“outer garment”), Baoule bui (“bark (skin)”), Kongo búuba (“outfit; small piece of cloth worn by a woman”), Mandinka bubá (“blouse”), Wolof buba (“garments”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Niger-Congo *-kwuba (“skin (bark, husk)”).

der

Pieri me na boeba, fo na ningre

1855 April 23, “De slavernij en hare gruwelen in Suriname [Slavery and its horrors in Suriname]”, in Algemeen Handelsblad, Amsterdam, page 4:

Ini mi dren mi ben syi / fa Srananman ben makandra / Ala buba ben kon na wan / Ke Masra, mi winsi a ben de tru

1985, “Mi Dren (I Shall Be Released)”, in Anne-Marie Hunsel (lyrics), Bob Dylan (music), Mi Dren (I Shall Be Released), performed by Anne-Marie Hunsel:

In my dream, I saw / how the Surinamese were getting along / All races had united / Oh Lord, I wish it were true

Kuljara va ju no habi bunne hudu, da buba soso

Your canoe doesn't have proper wood, it's just sapwood.


babun

Colombian red howler (Alouatta Seniculus)

(derogatory) a man of Hindustani descent


alanya

Citrus aurantium
Citrus aurantium#Translingual

Citrus sinensis
Citrus sinensis#Translingual


bangi

From English bank or borrowed from Dutch bank.

Tra sani di temreman ben e meki, na sani soleki tafra, sturu, bangi, nanga kisi pe sma ben poti sani na ini, èn sosrefi sani soleki doro, fensre, udu sroto, nanga postu fu poti na a plafon.

2008, “Yu ben sabi a sani disi?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Other things that the carpenter used to make were things such as tables, chairs, benches, and boxes where people put things into, as well as such items as doors, windows, wooden locks, and beams to put on the ceiling.


napi

Dioscorea alata
Dioscorea alata#Translingual


deinen

day name (ritual name of Ashanti origin, given to a child born on a given day of the week; e.g., Kwaku for a boy born on a Wednesday)


baksis

From English baksheesh, ultimately from Persian بخشش. Cognate of Dutch baksis.

extra amount (as a gift in addition to an amount bought)


botro

Aukan: botoo

→ Caribbean Hindustani: botro

→ Caribbean Javanese: botro


sabaku

Egretta thula
Egretta thula#Translingual

Bubulcus ibis
Bubulcus ibis#Translingual

Any of several small white egrets (Egretta alba, Egretta thula, Bubulcus ibis)


gangan

Possibly reduplication of gan, from English gone.


angu

Probably from Fon àgun (“gruel”), Yoruba àgún (“gruel”). Cognate of Portuguese angu.

angu (firm porridge or cake made of maize flour)


kosokoso

Reduplication of koso, probably from Kongo kòso-kóso/Kongo kòsu-kósu/Kongo kòsula/Kongo kósúl-a, from Proto-Bantu *-koc-Ud- (“to cough”).

ju meki kossókossò tumussi

Wan takru sortu kosokoso di no abi kaba a ben gwenti e kisi. Ala yuru wan pikin pisi tabaka ben e anga na en mofobuba. Mi ben e kari dati en ‘tabakaworon.’ Te a ben tan, dan a ben ari wan dampu fu na ‘lespeki tabaka.’ Nanga kosokoso a smoko e ari en srefi komopo na ini en gorogoro.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 254:

He used to get a nasty cough that had no end. There was always a piece of tobacco dangling from his lips. I used to call it his ‘tobacco worm.’ He was always puffing at his very strong tobacco. Coughingly, the smoke belched from his throat.


desko

From a shortening of Dutch discrimineren.


awo

mi pikin kali mi grangmamma "hem awò" : so srefi a kali mi grangtatta "hem awò" tu.

My child calls my grandmother "their great-grandparent"; likewise, they call my grandfather "their great-grandparent", too.

En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.

c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:

And all our forefathers of the olden days were African negroes from negro-country. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.

Stanfaste, Stanfaste, na fas' fa y' e gro / mi kondre mu libi: net' lek' mi awo

1994, Albert Helman, Adyosi / Afscheid, Nijmegen: Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, page 64:

Globe amaranth, globe amaranth, the way you grow is / how my country should thrive: just like my ancestors


sma

→ Dutch: sma

Contraction of suma, likely borrowed from English someone

a lobbi va trobbi somma

Mi tyant a sma kfalek ma a no wani gi en kari gi mi.

I'm hitting on him/her like mad but he/she doesn't want to give me their phone number.

da somma no sabi va lo

‘Blub, hik, sorry man, ei Arnie, pe y' ben de yongu, m' e suk' i no moer man; pe a meid Sastro de man, mi lob' a sma, yongu, wan f' den kel go vandoor nang' a sma k'ba natuurlijk. (...)’

1985, Paul Marlee, Proefkonijn, Paramaribo: Uitgeverij De Volksboekwinkel, →ISBN, page 99:

'Glub, hiccup, sorry, man, hey Arnie, where have you been, man, I've been looking all over for you; where's that girl Sastro, man, I love that girl, man, one of the guys already went off with her, obviously. (...)'

A sma di / dini tafra / a dei dati / ben sa de koloku, / Leonardo da Vinci, / mi pikinboitenwondru.

1991, Michaël Slory, “Kroboi. a paskanyanyan (Leonardo da Vinci) [Farewell. The Passover supper (Leonardo da Vinci)]”, in Ik zal zingen om de zon te laten opkomen [I will sing to make the sun rise], Amsterdam: Uitgeverij In de Knipscheer, →ISBN, page 130:

He who / waited upon the table / that day / will have been happy, / Leonardo da Vinci, / wonder of my boyhood days.

Together with the article a (“the”), used to refer to a specific but unnamed person.


nyan

From one or several West-African languages, ultimately from Proto-Bantu *nɲàmà. Compare Jamaican Creole nyam.

Kaptein sidǫ' tiri, dɛn a nyąm ala na nyąm baka. Na baka dɑti, a puri bɩgi pipa nąŋga Amer'ką tabaka, ɛn a bɩgɩn smoko te a i drųŋgu.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 240:

The captain sat down quietly, and again ate all the food. After that, he powdered a large pipe with American tobacco, and he began to smoke until he was drunk.


ameti

From English ham#English or Dutch ham + meti (“meat”).


agida

Probably from Ewe adzidá (“drum”), Fon àgiɖá (“drumstick”).

(music) agida (a conical bass drum two to three metres long and 40-50 centimetres in diameter, the sound of which resonates in the ground and is used in the Afro-Surinamese Winti religion to communicate with snake gods; it is played with both hands, with the player using a drumstick in one hand)


pipel

Possibly a learned borrowing from English people, possibly coined by Moravian Church missionaries.


papira

→ Caribbean Javanese: papirah

→ Wayana: pampira


bruku

→ Aukan: buuku

→ Caribbean Hindustani: bruku

→ Kari'na: puruku, puluka

→ Saramaccan: buúku


doksi

→ Dutch: doks


okasi

Alape, alafasi / sènses e gi / ontwikkeling okasi

2012 September 14, Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek, 00:09 from the start, in Trainingen, Statistiek Bureau, via YouTube, retrieved 2024-08-29:

Everywhere, in every way / the census provides / opportunities for development


poku

→ Dutch: pokoe


ploi

Borrowed from Dutch plooi (“crease, wrinkle”).


obia

Possibly from Awutu obire (“charm”) and/or Efik ubio (“charm to cause sickness or death”). Cognate of Aukan obiya, Saramaccan obia, and English obeah.

bor

Dan den poti den wisi fu kiri mi / Èn den poti den obia fu broko mi / Ma den lei, den no sa man

1977, Happy Boys (lyrics and music), “Veanti”, in Akoeba:

They even arranged charms to kill me / And they arranged charms to break me / But they're lying, they won't be able to


gorogoro

Probably from Kongo ki-kodi-kódi, from Proto-Bantu *-kodo (“throat, gullet”).


batyaw

→ Dutch: batjaw

Borrowed from Dutch bakkeljauw, from Portuguese bacalhau.


wagi

→ Dutch: waggie


apuku

Probably from Kongo m-púungu (“powerful fetish”). Cognate of Saramaccan apúku, Aukan ampukú.


buriki

Aukan: buliki

Saramaccan: bulíki


kabisi

Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia#Translingual

Lacinato kale (Brassica oleracea var. palmifolia)


kabula

→ Dutch: kaboela, kabula

A dance and music genre evolved from kaseko, characterised by sexually suggestive lyrics and dance movements.


bonboni

Brazilian squirrel, Guianan squirrel (Sciurus aestuans)


angri

angri e kiri mi

I am very hungry (literally: the hunger is killing me)


busi

Aukan: busi


duku

→ Caribbean Javanese: duku

→ Dutch: doekoe


anansi

Borrowed from a West African language, e.g. Akan ananse.


granmama

Compound of gran (“grand, old, honorable”) + mama (“mother”).

com

mi grangmamma na mi awo

Ei Selecta, mi granmama ben leri mi altèit, "no kosi kaiman fosi abra liba, boi".

2011, Selectabeats, Kayente (lyrics and music), “Djoegoe Djoegoe”:

Hey Selecta, my grandmother always taught me: "don't curse the caiman before crossing the river, boy"

(historical) the oldest enslaved woman in a household or on a plantation


dyugudyugu

Den wortu disi ben e meki dyugudyugu.

Mi wefi no lobi a dyugudyugu na foto.

My wife does not like the crowdedness in the city.

Uproar, unrest, turmoil, commotion, crowdedness


beiri

Borrowed from Dutch bijl, from Middle Dutch bile.


strafu

Borrowed from Dutch straf (“punishment”), straffen (“to punish”).


alenbo

From English rainbow, equivalent to alen + bo.


bromki

Aukan: boomiki

→ Kari'na: poromiki

Borrowed from Dutch bloemetje, diminutive of bloem.


kantoro

Aukan: kantoo

Saramaccan: kantoo

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kantoro

→ Wayana: kantolo


trefu

→ Dutch: treef


froktu

→ Caribbean Javanese: fruktu

→ Saramaccan: fuúta


fowru

From English fowl or less likely borrowed from Dutch vogel.


baisigri

Aukan: baisigii

Saramaccan: baisígi

→ Kari'na: paisiki


asaw

From Kongo nzau, from Proto-Bantu *njògù.


kukru

Aukan: kukuu

From English cook room. The final nasal is absent in Sranan due to lack of stress (compare uma, lusumbe, kakumbe).


wroko

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-om
Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom
Proto-Germanic *werką
Proto-West Germanic *werk
Old English weorc
Middle English werk
English workder.
Sranan Tongo wroko
From English work.


srafu

Borrowed from Dutch slaaf, from Middle Dutch slave, from Late Latin sclavus.


gwenti

Borrowed from Dutch gewend, also compare gewoonte.


sekrepatu

Borrowed from Dutch schildpad (“tortoise, turtle”).


ayun

Aukan: ayun

→ Kari'na: ajunu, junu


kapelka

From Dutch kapel (now dialectal or archaic) with an ending -ka of unknown origin and function.


kandratiki

From English candlestick. Equivalent to kandra + tiki.


boskopu

Aukan: bosikopu

Saramaccan: bosikópu


pranasi

Odi mijn heer hoe fa joe tan gran tanki fo myn heer a komi ja fo loeke da pranasie wan trom.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], Frankfurt/Madrid: Iberoamericana, retrieved 2021-03-20:

Good day, Sir, how are you? Many thanks to Sir, (that) he has come here to look at the plantation on this occasion.


moismoisi

Reduplicated borrowing from Dutch muis. Compare Jamaican Creole musmus.

Any other mouse-like animal not closely related to mice


Anitri

Borrowed from German Herrnhuter or Dutch hernhutter.

(Christianity) Moravian (adherent of the Moravian Brotherhood)


bonki

→ Caribbean Hindustani: bonki

Borrowed from Dutch boontje, diminutive of boon.


Dyu

Jew (adherent to Judaism; one who belongs to a Jewish (sub)culture)


krape

Likely of Amerindian origin, compare Old Tupi karambé. Cognate of Dutch krapé.

Chelonia mydas
Chelonia mydas#Translingual


pankuku

Borrowed from Dutch pannenkoek. Equivalent to pan + kuku.


faki

compartment, cell of a grid, box (e.g. a tick box)


wowoyo

According to Focke a contraction of *woyowoyo, a reduplication of woyo, an onomatopoeia. Compare Aukan wowoyo and Saramaccan wojowójo.


dungru

→ Aukan: dunguu

→ Saramaccan: dúngu

„[Yehovah] kari unu komoto na ini a dungru fu kon na ini en tumusi moi leti.”—1 PETR. 2:9.

2016, “Gado kari wi komoto na ini a dungru”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

“[Jehovah] called you to come out of darkness and come into his wonderful light.”—1 PET. 2:9.


waswasi

Reduplicated, from English wasp. Schumann and Focke still have forms corresponding to wasiwasi. Compare Aukan wasiwasi, Saramaccan wasiwási.


srudati

→ Aukan: suudati


afersi

From English affairs or borrowed from Dutch affaires, from French affaire.


swagri

→ Aukan: swagi

→ Caribbean Javanese: swagri

→ Saramaccan: suwági

Borrowed from Dutch zwager, from Middle Dutch swager.


segansi

From se + gansi, calque of Dutch zeegans.


kapasi

→ Dutch: kapasie


bambusi

Borrowed from Dutch bamboes, older form of bamboe.


fiadu

→ Dutch: fiadu, fiadoe, viado, viadoe

From Portuguese bolo folhado, also spelled bolo fiado.

a sweet fluffy cake filled with rum-soaked raisins, almonds and succade


krakun

→ Aukan: kaakun

→ Caribbean Hindustani: krákun

→ Kari'na: karakuna


bereman

From bere (“womb, belly”) + -man (person suffix).


spuku

Borrowed from German Spuk (or alternatively from Dutch spook with subsequent influence from German).


bonkoro

A black person with a (relatively) light skin.


bobimofo

Compound of bobi (“breast, boob”) + mofo (“mouth”).


dyogo

Ɛn tɛ a kɩs' na mɔni, dą' a pɔt' 'a mɔni na ɩni wąn dyɔgo.

1936, Melville J. Herskovits, Frances S. Herskovits, Suriname folk-lore, New York: Columbia University Press, page 424:

And when he got the money, he put the money in a jug.

A beer bottle with a volume of one litre.


kromanti

Ma a dyuka, a tongo fu dyuka dati na kromanti a e taki.

1983, Aleks de Drie, Wan tori fu mi eygi srefi, Afdeling Cultuurstudies van het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Wetenschappen & Cultuur, page 122

But the Ndyuka people, the Ndyuka language that they speak is Akan.

the Akan language (spoken by enslaved people arriving from the Gold Coast)


kowsu

→ Aukan: kowsu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: kausu

→ Kari'na: kosu

→ Saramaccan: köúsa


nangra

Aukan: nangaa

Borrowed from Dutch nagel. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, mindri, kwinsi.

Fri yu no kan skrifi na / ini den nangra fu den opete.

1961, Michaël Slory, ““Sarka – Gi Yomo Kenyata (Kenya)” [Bitter struggle – For Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya)]”, in Sarka / Bittere strijd, Amsterdam: Pegasus:

Freedom cannot be written / in the clutches of vultures.


akata

Probably from Kongo n-káta (“porter's pad”), from Proto-Bantu *-kata (“headpad”). Cognate of Saramaccan àkàtà.

Te yu no man fu tyari akata / yu no mu trobi matuku

1984, “Nioni”, in Telefôn' mi koe mi koenoe, performed by The Exmo Stars and Boogie:

If you aren't able to carry a headpad / you shouldn't bother with a basket


apresina

Aukan: apeesina

Saramaccan: apeesína


nyunsu

From English news. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mindri, mangri, onfu, nangra, kwinsi, nengre.


grebi

Aukan: geebi

Ef mi ben sab pe joe grebi de, / mi gran afo, di krodong tjari / kon na Sranan, / so farawe fjoe eegi doti, / biten tédei, Manspasidei / psa hondro jari di keti koti, / mi ben sa saka libi foto, / mi ben sa pari mi eegi boto / f'kon saka kiendie na joe sei.

1974 June 29, Fred W. Omskirk Sr., “Manspasi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

If I knew where your grave was, my grand ancestor, whom forced labour / brought to Suriname / so far away from your own native soil, / early today, Emancipation Day / hundred years after the chains were broken, / I would have left the city, / I would have paddled my own boat / to come and kneel by your side.

Den gorogoro de leki wan opo grebi, èn den tongo e taki soso lei. Den mofobuba e kiri yu leki te wan takru sneki beti yu.

2002, Nyun, Suriname: Wycliffe Bible Translators, Roma [Romans] 3:13:

Their throat is like an open grave, and their tongues speak only lies. Their lips kill you like when an evil snake bites you.


golu

(historical, numismatics) The Surinamese guilder (currency unit, abolished in 2004)

(historical, numismatics) The Dutch guilder (currency unit, abolished in 2002)


leri

Borrowed from Dutch leren (“to learn; to teach”).


bosu

(of animals) group, herd, flock, swarm, school


ingibarki

Tree of the species Licania heteromorpha.


bakba

Aukan: bakuba

→ Caribbean Hindustani: bakwa

Borrowed from Dutch bacove, from Portuguese pacova, from Old Tupi pakoba.


bakra

Aukan: bakaa

Saramaccan: bakaa

→ Dutch: bakra

From Efik mbakara or Ibibio mbakara. Compare Belizean Creole bakra, Jamaican Creole backra, Nicaraguan Creole bakra, Guyanese Creole English bakra, Igbo békè, English bakkra, English buckra, and Gullah buckra.

1757, minutes of the interrogation of Avontuur, quoted in: 2000, Margot C. van den Berg, "Mi no sal tron tongo". Early Sranan in court records 1667 - 1767, unpublished MA thesis, page 51

If my master had sent me to go to Tempatie, then I would have shown the Whites

evie mi massra ben sendie mi go na Tampatie dan mie sa ben Soria dem Backara

Kaka vo soo wan Bakkera!

1783-1785, Hendrik Schouten, “Een huishoudelyke twist [A domestic row]”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, page 194:

o! alla bakkra moesoe dédé toe

1833, Marten Douwes Teenstra, quoting Present, Bijzonderheden betrekkelijk den brand te Paramaribo, in den nacht van den 3den op den 4den september 1832 [Particulars regarding the Paramaribo fire, in the night of the 3rd to the 4th of September 1832], page 51:

Oh, all whites have to die [sometime], too.

Poti! fa mi habi sari na ini mi hatti, foe so wan moi pikien bakra.!

1858 May 16, W.E.H. Winkels, “Humoristische Snippertjes. (Uit de Portefeuille van den ouden Heer Furet.) XXXVI. DE WAARHEID op reis binnen de Kolonie Suriname. DE BLANKOFFICIER. [Humorous Snippets. (From the portfolio of the old Mr. Furet.) XXXVI. THE TRUTH travelling within the Colony of Surinam. THE PLANTATION OVERSEER]”, in Surinaamsch weekblad, Paramaribo: A.L.G. de Randamie, page 3:

Oh! How I have pity in my heart for such a handsome young white man!

En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.

c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden, Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:

And all our forefathers of the olden days were African Negroes from Negroland. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.

Nanga da njoen smokoscipi voe bakrakondre mie de senie jou foe dem pikien bakra na Sint Nikolaas verjari die seksie Hondro nestie baskuto voe potie switie sanie na inie hesie mie sa senie moro.

1884 October 26, Algemeen Handelsblad (advertisement), Amsterdam, page 4:

With the new steamship to the Netherlands I'm sending you for the Dutch children, on Saint Nicholas's birthday, six hundred nests of baskets for putting sweets into[.] I'll send more soon.

Atleba ten no sa de moro ini Sranan / Den bakra, den ben hori wi na baka / Den de bow den kondre kon na fesi / Meki wi e pina

1975, Mighty Botai (lyrics and music), “Sranang Kong Fri”, in Onafhankelijkheid (Srefidensi) Suriname:

The period of toiling will be no more in Suriname / The Dutch, they held us back / They built up their country successfully / Made us suffer


krutubakra

Den seni wan krage go na kroetoe-bakra foe boesi [...].

1917, Jac. van Ginneken, J. Endepols, “Twaalfde hoofdstuk. Het West-Indisch [Twelfth Chapter. The West-Indian Language]”, in De regenboogkleuren van Nederlands taal [The Rainbow Colours of the Language of the Netherlands], page 244:

They sent a complaint to the judge of the jungle


dorodoro

Reduplication of *doro, from Dutch door (“through”).


taibere

cotton wraparound garment, specifically worn by women after childbirth in order to strengthen their abdominal muscles


kruyara

→ Dutch: korjaal

Kuljara va ju no habi bunne hudu, da buba soso

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

Your canoe doesn't have proper wood, it's just sapwood.

Joe si boenboen kroejara soengoe, kaba joe aksi iffi mi foetoe natti.

1874, W. Boekhoudt, Uit mijn verleden. Bijdrage tot de kennis van Suriname [From my past. Contribution to the knowledge of Suriname], Winschoten: J.D. van der Veen, page 95:

You saw full well that the canoe sank, now you ask me if my feet got wet.

curiara, dugout, hollowed-out canoe, pirogue


basya

Aukan: basiya

→ Dutch: bastiaan, basya

Maroon or Amerindian assistant village chief; the lowest tier in the hierarchy of tribal authority

Baſſia hoe fafi maſtra gi permiſſi fo pree.

ca. 1765, Pieter van Dyk, Nieuwe en nooit bevoorens geziene Onderwyzinge in het Bastert, of Neeger Engels, zoo als het zelve in de Hollandsze Colonien gebruikt word [New and unprecedented instruction in Bastard or Negro English, as it is used in the Dutch colonies], page 107:

Basya, how are you? Did master give permission to play?

(historical) enslaved person charged with overseeing work at a plantation and administering corporal punishment


sortu

From English sort or borrowed from Dutch soort.

Sortu wroko yu e du?

2011, José Paulo Ribeiro, Rafael da Silva Oliveira, Wortubuku Sranantongo para brasileiros, FUNAG, page 178:


dyonko

Aukan: dyonko

Saramaccan: djönkö

→ Dutch: jonko

Possibly from Twi Akan tɔ nko (“to fall asleep, to doze”)

A dyonko e pase fu a wan anu go na wan tra anu, fu a wan mofo go na wan tra mofo.

2020 April 1, Stuart Rahan, “De corona-avondklok [The corona curfew]”, in De Ware Tijd, archived from the original on 2021-08-06:

The joint passes from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth.


okro

Aukan: okoo

→ Kari'na: okoro

Perhaps from English ochroe (alternative form of okra in the Caribbean).

A ben de so taki wan dei mi mama ben bori okro.

2002, “A dei di mi bron misrefi”, in SIL - Languages of Suriname:

Abelmoschus esculentus
Abelmoschus esculentus#Translingual


brudu

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃tóm?
Proto-Germanic *blōþą
Proto-West Germanic *blōd
Old Dutch bluot
Middle Dutch bloet
Dutch bloedbor.
Sranan Tongo brudu
Borrowed from Dutch bloed (“blood”).

etymon

Lukas di ben de wan datra no e fruklari fa a sweti fu Yesus „tron leki dropu brudu di ben e fadon na gron” (Lukas 22:44).

2013, “Yesus e begi aladi a e sari srefisrefi”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Luke who is a physician does not explain how Jesus’ sweat “became as drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44).


awege

Possibly from Edo awuekia (“impotent man”).

(dated, derogatory) male homosexual, effeminate man


libimakandra

Calque of Dutch samenleving, equivalent to libi + makandra.

in libimakandra / d'e pré kibridóeman, / den ipokrit! / ma ten sa kon / te kibri-sí-man-kandra / sa leti.

1977, Henri Frans de Ziel, Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 80:

In society / they act as manipulators in the shadows, / the hypocrites! / but the time will come / when the candle of the people who see hidden things / will ignite.


sopropo

Momordica charantia
Momordica charantia#Translingual

bitter melon, bitter gourd, the fruit of Momordica charantia


dyodyo

Possibly from Fon jɔtɔ (“personal ancestral guardian spirit”)

bor

mi a no mi / solanga m' no krari / foe kibri, foe tjari / joe gersi na ini mi djodjo.

c. 1957, Trefossa, gronmama [Earth mother], quoted in Ala poewema foe Trefossa [All poems by Trefossa], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, published 1977, page 50:

I am not me / as long as I'm not ready / to keep, to carry / your likeness in my soul.

a mindri liba / d'e drai tron wan kolkoe / a mi ati lanpe / e broko mi djodjo / saka gi doti

1962, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “winti [Wind]”, in soela, Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 13:

The middle of the river / which revolves into becoming a whirlpool / at my heart's landing / brings down my guardian spirit / for the earth

Aisa Mama, yu na mi mama / yu bere mu kibri mi te fu kaba / Aisa, na yu na mi masanga / Aisa Mama, yu na mi dyodyo

2005, Leanda Mac-nack, Patricia Sichtman (lyrics and music), “Aisa Mama E Kong”, in Ala Sani Na Fu Wan Ting, performed by Sangrafu:

Mother Aisa, you are my mother / your womb should harbour me until the end / Aisa, you are my refuge / Mother Aisa, you are my guardian spirit

soul, guardian spirit; in the Afro-Surinamese Winti belief system, a male or female spiritual entity linked to the birthplace of an individual who, together with a counterpart of the opposite sex, acts as guardian of this or several individuals

kra

soul, spirit; a spiritual entity who determines an individual's life and returns to its origin upon the individual's death, ceasing interaction with the world of the living

yorka

soul, spirit, ghost; a spiritual entity specific to an individual who can remain among the living upon the death of the individual, in a benign or malicious manner


bakru

Probably from Kongo ǹ-kúlu (“ancestors, the dead”), from Proto-Bantu *-kudu (“adult, senior”). Cognate of Saramaccan bakúlu (“lower god, dwarf ghost”), Aukan bakuú (“evil spirit”). Compare English baccoo

cog

An evil forest spirit represented as a ghost-like little man with a big head


masusa

Dutch: masoesa

Probably from Kongo ma-susa. Cognate of Saramaccan masisa, Aukan masusa.


kokobe

Likely from Akan kokobe (“leprosy”). Cognate of Jamaican Creole cocobay; compare Haitian Creole kokobe (“to cripple; crippled, handicapped, maimed; a cripple”).

tuberculoid leprosy
tuberculoid leprosy#English


satra

From Dutch zaterdag or from English Saturday.


mutyama

Probably from Kongo mukiama (“rainbow”). Cognate of Aukan muntyama.


krapa

Dutch: krapboom

Borrowed from Kari'na karapa and/or Lokono karaba. Cognate of English crappo.

The andiroba, crabwood tree, or crappo; Carapa guianensis

The African crabwood tree; Carapa procera


podosiri

Dutch: podosiri

Possibly from Aukan apodo (“Euterpe oleracea”) + siri (“seed”), a partial calque of Aukan apodo sii (“acai”), rebracketed as a (“the”) podosiri.

partial calque

Euterpe oleracea
Euterpe oleracea#Translingual

acai (the fruit of Euterpe oleracea, consumed as pulp, mousse, or juice)


gobogobo

Bambara groundnut
Bambara groundnut#English

Vigna subterranea
Wikispecies:Vigna subterranea

Bambara groundnut (the edible seed of an African plant related to beans, Vigna subterranea, which produces its seeds underground, like peanuts.)


wefi

From English wife and Dutch wijf, both from Proto-Germanic *wībą.


krarun

Cognate of Dutch klaroen, Spanish calalú, English callaloo, of either Amerindian or Bantu origin.

Chinese spinach, red spinach, Amaranthus dubius


gadofowru

→ Dutch: gadofowroe

Compound of gado (“God”) + fowru (“bird”).


pindadokun

Compound of pinda (“peanut”) + dokun (“duckanoo”).

pinda-dokkunnu. pinda-Käse


kapuwa

→ Dutch: kapoea, kapoewa

Borrowed from Kari'na kapiwa and/or Lokono kapoa.


manbitawiwiri

Compound of man (“male”) + bitawiwiri (“Cestrum latifolium”).


bitawiwiri

Aukan: bita uwíi

Saramaccan: bita uwíi

→ Dutch: bitawiri

Compound of bita (“bitter”) + wiwiri (“leaf”), referring to its bitter taste. First attested in 1740 as bita wirri wirri in the unpublished anonymous manuscript Ontwerp tot Eene Beschryving van Surinaamen [Draft of a description of Suriname].

Cestrum latifolium, the young leaves of which are eaten as a vegetable.

nl:Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek


srefidensi

→ Dutch: srefidensi

Coined by Surinamese poet Trefossa, equivalent to srefi (“self”) + -densi (“-ence”).

Vijfentwintig november / Sranan kisi wan manpikin / Fa a nen, fa a nen? / Srefidensi now / Vijfentwintig november / Sranan kisi wan umapikin / Fa a nen, fa a nen? / Srefidensi now

1975, Lieve Hugo (lyrics and music), “Srèfidensi”, in Wang Piepel, Wang Nation:

Twenty-fifth of November / Suriname will have a baby boy / What's his name, what's his name? / Independence now / Twenty-fifth of November / Suriname will have a baby girl / What's her name, what's her name? / Independence now

Srefidensi na foe wi allamala en dat ede joe VLEESPALEIS sa fri joe foe dem dirie metie prijs. Dies na a srefidensi bijdrage foe VLEESPALEIS djie din sranang oema.

1975 November 12, Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname (advertisement), page 4:

Independence belongs to all of us and that's why your Meat Palace will liberate you from high meat prices. This is Meat Palace's independence contribution to Surinamese women.

Ini 1974 te kon miti a srefidensi foe Sranan (1975), a Doe-Theater pré: Libi Span ini na ati joe^([sic – meaning foe]) Sranan - wan totaal-theater-pré, pe singi, pokoe, dansi nanga pré moksi kon na wan, èn pe den someni koeltoeroe foe Sranan ben e begi foe a krakti foe Mama Sranan.

1981, Thea Doelwijt, Prisiri stari. De pretster. Wan komedi-pré gi pikin. Een theaterspel voor kinderen [The star of joy. A theatre play for children], Paramaribo: Eldoradoboek, →ISBN, page 114:

In 1974 until the independence of Suriname (1975), the Doe-Theater performed: Life's Exciting in the Heart of Suriname - a total-theatre play where song, music, dance and theatre mixed together, and where Suriname's many cultures invoked the strength of Mother Suriname.

(informal) Surinamese Independence Day, a national holiday in Suriname observed annually on 25 November


Bergi

From Dutch Belg, ultimately from Latin Belgae.


lantiberi

From lanti (“government”) + beri (“funeral”).

pauper's funeral
pauper's funeral#English


dragiman

From dragi (“bier”) + -man (person suffix).


kankantri

From English cotton tree, likely influenced by kankan (“sturdy, steadfast”).

gwe foe Afobaka, go na hé / dan te na sibiboesi krin joe kra / fas joe roetoe tap tafra-bergi lek wan boa / opo wan makti kankantri-sten / gi na njoen Sranan brokodé

1970 March 11, P. Marlee, “Lees: Sranan, moks'alesi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

away from Afobaka, go upwards / until a cloudburst cleanses your soul / fasten your roots on the table mount like a boa / raise a mighty kapok tree voice / for the dawn of the new Suriname

Ceiba pentandra
Ceiba pentandra#Translingual


sibibusi

→ Dutch: sibibusi

Compound of sibi (“to sweep, the sweeping”) + busi (“forest, jungle”), said because the heavy rain is thought to sweep the forest clean like a broom.

compound

kon sibiboesi / wasi den someni katibo prakseri / foe wi go farawe / was den go / sibiboesi / kon / wasi sranan krin

1967, Jozef Slagveer, “sibiboesi [cloudburst]”, in Shrinivási, editor, Wortoe d'e tan abra. Bloemlezing uit de Surinaamse poëzie vanaf 1957 [Words that remain. Anthology of Surinamese poetry since 1957], Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslektuur, published 1970, pages 53–54:

come cloudburst / wash our manifold slavery thoughts / well away / wash them away / cloudburst / come / wash Suriname clean

Blesi sa kon bogobogo, Masra pramis' m'anga yu, Lek'wan alen a sa wiki, Kraf' den di bribi fu tru, Sula fu seigi, wan dei sa was' kon na gron, now wan tu dropu de spiti, ma sibibusi sa kon

1999, Hillary de Bruin, “Liederen uit de praktijk van de duman [Songs from the Winti priest's practice]”, in OSO. Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, →ISSN, page 152:

Blessing will come abundantly / the Lord promised to me and you / like a rainshower it will awaken / strengthen those who truly believe / With cataracts of blessing / one day the ground will be awash / now a few droplets are spitting / but torrential rains will come

cloudburst, sudden torrential tropical rainstorm


sabidensi

From sabi (“to know, knowledge”) + -densi (“-ence”).


amrabasi

Compound of amra (“gavel”) + basi (“a person in charge of something”).


pikinnengre

Compound of pikin (“small”) + nengre (“Negro; person”).

Mi no ben kan tan arki den betiyesi tori fu Basedi, bika na bigisma no ben lobi te pikinnengre mofo e warsi na ini en tori efu den bradi den yesimama e arki.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi [A piece of life]”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 256:

I couldn't stay to listen to the ear-catching stories of Master Edi, because the old man didn't like it when children's mouths wandered into his tale if they had stretched their eardrums and were listening in.


libisma

Compound of libi (“life, living”) + sma (“person”).


fotoman

A no de wan ferwondroe sani dati den Nazarethsma ben taki foe den fosten fotoman: „Pe a man disi kisi na koni dan nanga den krakti wroko disi?”

1985 September 1, “Kownoekondrebedinari ben teki na tjalansi [Kingdom ministers took on the challenge]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 4:

It's not a surprising thing that the people of Nazareth said of their former townsman: "Where then did this man receive this wisdom and these powerful works?"


temreman

Aukan: tembee man

→ Caribbean Hindustani: temremán

→ Caribbean Javanese: témbréman

From Dutch timmerman, equivalent to temre (“to perform carpentry”) + -man.

Tra sani di temreman ben e meki, na sani soleki tafra, sturu, bangi, nanga kisi pe sma ben poti sani na ini, èn sosrefi sani soleki doro, fensre, udu sroto, nanga postu fu poti na a plafon.

2008, “Yu ben sabi a sani disi?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Other things that the carpenter used to make were things such as tables, chairs, benches, and boxes where people put things into, as well as such items as doors, windows, wooden locks, and beams to put on the ceiling.


dreiten

Compound of drei (“dry”) + ten (“time, period”).


alenten

Compound of alen (“rain”) + ten (“time, period”).


Srefidensidei

Compound of srefidensi (“independence”) + dei (“day”).


Srefidensi

Alternative letter-case form of srefidensi


wagiman

porter (person who transports goods for a fee)


buler

Borrowed from Dutch boeler (“homosexual”).

Boi, yu na batiman, yu na batiman / fa yu kan kosi den lesbi yanda, yu srefi lobi man / Pusi, yu na batiman, we yu na bati-badman / fa yu kan kosi den buler, boi, dan yu sribi nanga man

2023, “BattyBadman”, in BattyBadman, performed by Poppe:

Boy, you're a batty man, you're a batty man / how can you insult the lesbians there, you yourself love men / Pussy, you're a batty man, I say you're a batty badman / how can you curse the faggots, boy, when you sleep with men


redimusu

→ Dutch: redimoesoe

Literally, “redcap”, compound of redi (“red”) + musu (“cap”). Derived from the red caps worn as part of the uniform of the Negro Free Corps.

(historical) a member of the Negro Free Corps, a colonial military unit in Suriname made up of free blacks and freedmen

(figuratively, derogatory) traitor, race traitor, collaborator


didibri

Possibly from analyzing English the Devil as one word.


didibri-apra

Literally, “devil's apple”, compound of didibri (“devil”) + apra (“apple”).

Morinda citrifolia
Morinda citrifolia#Translingual


blakawiwiri

Compound of blaka (“blaka”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Venezuelan pokeweed
Venezuelan pokeweed#English

Venezuelan pokeweed, Phytolacca rivinoides


bruduwiwiri

Compound of brudu (“blood”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


bakruwiwiri

Literally, “baccoo leaf”, compound of bakru (“baccoo”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


aneisiwiwiri

Literally, “anise leaf”, compound of aneisi (“anise”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


busismeriwiwiri

Compound of busi (“bush, jungle”) + smeriwiwiri (“Croton trinitatis; Ocimum campechianum”).


ditibriwiwiri

Compound of ditibri (“three stivers, half shilling”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


tibri

(historical, numismatics) stiver; a former pre-decimalization Surinamese coin worth eight doits


dritibri

Compound of dri (“three”) + tibri (“stiver, coin worth eight doits”).

(historical) The amount of money equal to three pre-decimal stivers or a half shilling

(archaic) The amount of money equal to 4 decimal cents


sren

Likely from Dutch schelling (“shilling”).

(historical, numismatics) A former pre-decimalization coin worth 5 Surinamese stivers

(archaic, informal) The amount of money equal to 8 decimal cents


drisren

Compound of dri (“three”) + sren (“shilling; the amount of money equal to 8 cents”).

Mi sa gi joe aiti drisren nanga vijfi tiensensi.

1913, Jac. van Ginneken, Handboek der Nederlandsche taal. Deel 1. De sociologische structuur der Nederlandsche taal [Handbook of the Dutch language. Part 1. The sociological structure of the Dutch language], Nijmegen: L.C.G. Malmberg, page 269:

I'll give you eight quarters and five dimes.

(archaic, informal, numismatics) quarter (a coin worth 25 cents)


tinsensi

Compound of tin (“ten”) + sensi (“cent”).

(numismatics) dime (a coin worth 10 cents)


twarfusren

Compound of twarfu (“twelve”) + sren (“shilling; the amount of money equal to 8 cents”).


pakira

Tayassu tajacu
Tayassu tajacu#Translingual


dyatawiwiri

Possibly from Mende ndatawulo (“Borreria ramisparsa”).


doifiwiwiri

Compound of doifi (“dove”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


gobogobowiwiri

Compound of gobogobo (“Bambara groundnut”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Jacaranda obtusifolia subsp. rhombifolia


feifi-olowiwiri

Compound of feifi (“five”) + olo (“hole”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


fowrulosowiwiri

Compound of fowruloso (“chicken louse”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


gomawiwiri

Compound of goma (“starch; Guarea gomma”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


ede-atiwiwiri

Compound of ede-ati (“headache”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Calotropis gigantea
Calotropis gigantea#Translingual


ede-ati

Compound of ede (“head”) + ati (“pain”).


fowruloso

Compound of fowru (“chicken, bird”) + loso (“louse”).

chicken body louse
chicken body louse#English

chicken body louse, Menacanthus stramineus


isriwiwiri

Compound of isri (“iron”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

blue porterweed, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis


ingiwiwiri

Compound of ingi (“Amerindian”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Nationaal Herbarium Nederland
w:National Herbarium of the Netherlands


ingiwiwiri

Compound of ingi (“Amerindian”) + wiwiri (“hair”).

(figuratively, idiomatic) a fleeting instant


kibriwiwiri

Compound of kibri (“hidden, covered”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


konsakawiwiri

Compound of konsaka (“athlete’s foot”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


krasiwiwiri

Compound of krasi (“itch”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

West Indian woodnettle
West Indian woodnettle#English

West Indian woodnettle, Laportea aestuans


korsuwiwiri

Compound of korsu (“fever”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).

Lantana camara
Lantana camara#Translingual


kromantiwiwiri

Compound of kromanti (“African magic”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


konsaka

kumsákka, der Kumpsack, ein wässerichtes Schwärendes Jucken an den Füssen, auch wohl an Händen.

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:

Konsaka. The Kumpsack, a watery festering itch on the feet, also occurs on hands.


yampaneisitoriman

Compound of Yampaneisi (“Javanese”) + toriman (“any hitchhiker plant”), probably because this plant was traditionally eaten mainly by ethnic Javanese-Surinamese.

Bidens pilosa
Bidens pilosa#Translingual


agumawiwiri

→ Dutch: gomawiri

Compound of aguma (“Solanum americanum”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


aguma

Possibly from Yoruba ògùmọ̀ (“'a cultivated variety of Solanum nodiflorum”). Compare Jamaican English gouma (“Solanum americanum”), Bahamian English gooma-bush (“Solanum americanum”), Antillean Creole agouman (“Solanum americanum”).

cog

Solanum americanum, the leaves of which are eaten as a vegetable.


kownukondre

Compound of kownu (“king”) + kondre (“country”).


grontapu

Aukan: goontapu

Compound of gron (“ground”) + tapu (“top”).

Mi luku a grontapu nanga en gudu / Nowan kondre mi feni pe mi sa tan / Mi kan teigi yu fu tru, mi gudu / Nowan kondre mi lobi leki mi Sranan

1975, Sonora Paramarera (lyrics and music), “Kondre Nomroe Wan”, in Lobi Dee:

I look at the world and its riches / I find no country where I'll live / I can truly tell you, my darling / I love no country like my Suriname

Leki wan bakapisi foe toe grontapoe feti, dan foeroe grontapoe kownoekondre ben trowe na gron èn tra sortoe tirimakti ben teki den presi — republiek, socialistis dictatuur ofoe tra autoritaire tiri.

1983 April 1, “Sortoe sé joe e teki ini na kownoekondrestré-aksi? [Which side are you on regarding the kingdom issue?]”, in A waktitoren, Selters-Taunus: Wachtturm-Gesellschaft (Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses), page 6:

As a result of two world wars, many of the world's monarchies have been cast aside and other kinds of regime have taken their place – republics, socialist dictatorships or other authoritarian governments.


fransmanmope

Compound of Fransman (“Frenchman”) + mope (“hog plum”).

com

Ximenia americana
Ximenia americana#Translingual

mountain plum, sea lemon, yellow plum, seaside plum, tallowwood (Ximenia americana)


makamakawiwiri

Compound of makamaka (“thorny”) + wiwiri (“leaf, herb”).


marbonsu

→ Dutch: marabons, maribons

Probably from Kimbundu madimbondo (“wasps”), a variant of marimbondo, plural of rimbondo (“wasp”), possibly via Portuguese marimbondo. Compare Guyanese English marabunta (“Polistes infuscatus”).

cog

umbrella wasp, any wasp of the genus Polistes


dagublat

By surface analysis, dagu (“dog”) + Dutch blad (“leaf”). Cognate of Dutch dagoeblad.

surf

Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">blad</i> (“leaf”)

Ipomoea aquatica
Ipomoea aquatica#Translingual


brifi

Aukan: biifi

Saramaccan: biífi

→ Kari'na: brifi


eksempre

Fu eksempre, son sabiman e taki dati den difrenti tongo no kon de wantronso, ma taki wán „mamatongo” èn safrisafri tra tongo komoto fu a tongo dati.

2013, “Den tongo di wi e taki e komoto fu a „Toren fu Babel”?”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

For example, some scholars suggest that different languages did not appear suddenly but that one "mother tongue" and various other languages come from that language.


daguloso

Compound of dagu (“dog”) + loso (“louse”).


bonyo

Saramaccan: bónu

From English bone. The ending -yo may have been added to avoid confusion with bon (“tree”)


busititei

Compound of busi (“forest”) + titei (“rope”)


fowruwiwiri

Compound of fowru (“bird”) + wiwiri (“hair”).


dyuku

Ultimately from Fula jukka. Compare Jamaican Creole and Bahamian Creole jook (“to stab”), Nigerian Pidgin chook (“to pierce”), Grenadian Creole English djuck (“to stab”).


yesimama

Compound of yesi (“ear”) + mama (“mother”).

com+

A bom sutu so tranga taki a broko mi yesimama. Furu yari langa mi no ben man yere bun, ma te fu kaba mi yesi kon betre baka.

2007, “Yehovah kibri wi libi na a ten fu den ogri-ati tirimakti [Jehovah saved our lives in the time of the malicious regimes]”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

The bomb exploded so loudly that it broke my eardrums. For many years I couldn't hear well, but in the end my ears healed again.


yesilinga

Compound of yesi (“ear”) + linga (“ring”)


bakabonyo

Compound of baka (“back”) + bonyo (“bone”).

Di mi gebore na ini 1956, mi ben abi wan siki na den senwetitei fu mi bakabonyo. Dati meki mi no ben man waka bun èn mi ben kisi tra siki tu.

2013, “Yehovah ’e tyari a lai fu mi ala dei’”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

When I was born in 1956, I had an illness in the neural cord of my spine. Because of that, I couldn't walk properly and I got other illnesses too.


anansititei

Compound of anansi (“spider”) + titei (“rope”)

„A bisnis fu mi no ben waka bun èn dati meki mi ben kon abi bigi paiman. Sani kon moro ogri di na ekonomia fu Argentinia go na baka. Mi wefi ben musu du wan oparâsi tu. A ben gersi leki noiti mi ben o man pai ala den paiman fu mi. Mi ben firi leki wan freifrei di fasi na ini anansititei.”

2012, “San unu kan du te unu abi paiman? [What can you do when you're in debt?]”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

“My business wasn't going well and because of that, I ended up having large debts. Things became uglier when Argentina's economy took a downturn. Also, my wife had to have an operation. It seemed like I'd never be able to pay all my debts. I felt like a fly trapped in a spiderweb.”


sribikamra

Compound of sribi (“sleep”) + kamra (“room”).


uduloso

Compound of udu (“wood”) + loso (“louse”).


dreiwatra

Compound of drei (“dry”) + watra (“water”).

Dreiwatra e kiri mi.

2011, José Paulo Ribeiro, Rafael da Silva Oliveira, Wortubuku Sranantongo para brasileiros, FUNAG, page 177:


gowtusmeti

Borrowed from Dutch goudsmid. Equivalent to gowtu (“gold”) + smeti (“smith”).


fensre

Aukan: fensee

Saramaccan: fensë

→ Caribbean Javanese: fénsré

→ Kari'na: fensere


ferfi

→ Saramaccan: feífi

Borrowed from Dutch verven (“to paint”).


fayaworon

Compound of faya (“fire”) + woron (“worm”).


sweti

Lukas di ben de wan datra no e fruklari fa a sweti fu Yesus „tron leki dropu brudu di ben e fadon na gron” (Lukas 22:44).

2013, “Yesus e begi aladi a e sari srefisrefi”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

Luke who is a physician does not explain how Jesus’ sweat “became as drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44).


woron

Te den kibri a mana kon miti a di fu seibi dei, dan a no e lai nanga woron. A no e tingi tu! Disi na wan tra wondru!

(Can we date this quote?), “Wan nyun sortu nyanyan”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

When they save the manna over to the seventh day, it doesn’t get full of worms. And it doesn’t stink! This is another miracle!


wakti

Borrowed from Dutch wachten (“to wait”).

A wakti e bigin mindri fu a mun.

The watch begins in the middle of the month.

watch (a particular time period when guarding is kept)


tudewroko

Equivalent to tu (“two”) + dei (“day”) + wroko (“work”).


dridewroko

Equivalent to dri (“three”) + dei (“day”) + wroko (“work”).


fodewroko

Equivalent to fo (“four”) + dei (“day”) + wroko (“work”).


wrokope

Compound of wroko (“work”) + pe (“place”)

com+

Mi no lobi te sma kon suku mi na mi wrokope.

I do not like it when people come looking for me at my workplace.


legre

Di a kon sabi taki Elisa ben de na ini a foto Dotan, a seni a legre fu Siria fu go teki en.

(Can we date this quote?), “Wan bigi legre di de leki faya”, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

He found out that Elisha was in the city of Dothan, and he sent the Syrian army there to capture him..


tafra

→ Lokono: tafolo

→ Caribbean Hindustani: tafrá

→ Caribbean Javanese: tafrah, taprah

→ Kari'na: tapara

→ Trió: tafra


kownusturu

Compound of kownu (“king”) + sturu (“chair”).

Na ini a fisyun disi wi e si taki a kownusturu fu Yehovah de na tapusei fu den kerub-engel.

(Can we date this quote?), “„Mi kisi wan fisyun fu Gado””, in Jehovah's Witnesses:

In this vision we see that Jehovah's throne is above the cherubs.


boketi

owruyari boketi

a bouquet that is given to someone the day before their birthday


bakabana

→ Dutch: bakabana

Compound of baka (“to fry”) + bana (“plantain”).


koranti

Aukan: kolanti

→ Caribbean Hindustani: koraanti

→ Caribbean Javanese: kranti

Borrowed from Dutch courant, an archaic form of krant (“newspaper”). Compare Afrikaans koerant and Indonesian koran.


daguwesneki

Compound of daguwe (“boa constrictor”) + sneki (“snake”).


mamafoto

Compound of mama (“mother”) + foto (“city”).

Bakrakondre na a wan enkri kondre pe a tiri fu a kondre no de fu en mamafoto.


pikinfinga

Compound of pikin (“small”) + finga (“finger”).


mindrifinga

Compound of mindri (“middle”) + finga (“finger”).


mindri

From English middle. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, nangra, kwinsi.

a mindri liba / d'e drai tron wan kolkoe / a mi ati lanpe / e broko mi djodjo / saka gi doti

1962, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “winti [Wind]”, in soela, Paramaribo: Bureau Volkslectuur, page 13:

The middle of the river / that revolves into becoming a whirlpool / at my heart's landing / brings down my guardian spirit / for the earth


ketre

→ Saramaccan: ketè


wrokomati

Compound of wroko (“work”) + mati (“friend”).


fokofoko

Aukan: fuku fuku

Saramaccan: fuköfukö


dedewan

Compound of dede (“dead”) + wan (“one”).


krabu

→ Caribbean Hindustani: krabu

→ Caribbean Javanese: krabu

→ Saramaccan: kaábu


skapuloiri

Southern two-toed sloth (Choloepus Didactylus)


mirafroiti

Borrowing or calque from Dutch miereneter.

southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla)


kuriaku

grey brocket (Subulo gouazoubira, syn. Mazama gouazoubira), of South America.


tamanwa

Probably from Portuguese tamanduá (“anteater”).

De Reuzenmiereneter of Myrmecophaga tridactyla, in Suriname bekend als de Tamanwa, was de afgelopen dagen nadrukkelijk in het nieuws.

2014, Radio Suriname, “Paramaribo Zoo: ‘Tamanwa is geen killer’”, in Nieuws-Suriname:

giant anteater (Myrmecophaga Tridactyla)


tigrikati

Felis pardalis
Felis pardalis#Translingual


bigisma

Compound of bigi (“big”) + sma (“person”).

Mi no ben kan tan arki den betiyesi tori fu Basedi, bika na bigisma no ben lobi te pikinnengre mofo e warsi na ini en tori efu den bradi den yesimama e arki.

1975, Edgar Cairo, “Wan pisi fu libi [A piece of life]”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 256:

I couldn't stay to listen to the ear-catching stories of Master Edi, because the old man didn't like it when children's mouths wandered into his tale if they had stretched their eardrums and were listening in.

Noiti no kosi kaiman mama, fosi yu abra liba, a so den bigisma koti den odo.

2003, Conjunto Pomos (lyrics and music), “No Kosi Kaiman”, in Kula Man:

Never curse the caiman's mother before you've crossed the river, that's how the old people recite their proverbs.

elderly, wise person; old man or old woman


kakumbe

Aukan: kakumbe


mamanten

Aukan: mamanten


kruktutere

Aukan: kukutu tee

Compound of kruktu (“crooked”) + tere (“tail”). Saramaccan kúkútúlábu is likely a calque of this term.


kunsu

Aukan: kunsu

Saramaccan: kúnsu

→ Kari'na: kunsu

A koensoe de na tapoe wan kisi na ini oso. Te sma kon, dan den kan sidon na tapoe a koensoe.

1996, H. C. Tiendalli, M. Nickel, Leisi Boekoe na ini Sranan Tongo, 3rd edition, Paramaribo, Suriname: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, page 20:


edekrabasi

Compound of ede (“head”) + krabasi (“calabash”).


dreisabana

Compound of drei (“dry”) + sabana (“savanna”).


umapikin

Compound of uma (“woman”) + pikin (“child”).


nengre

Aukan: nengee

Saramaccan: në́ngë

From English nigger. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, mindri, kwinsi, nangra.

Businengre

someone from one of the groups of Maroons in Suriname


mofobuba

Compound of mofo (“mouth”) + buba (“skin”).

Den gorogoro de leki wan opo grebi, èn den tongo e taki soso lei. Den mofobuba e kiri yu leki te wan takru sneki beti yu.

2002, Nyun, Suriname: Wycliffe Bible Translators, Roma [Romans] 3:13:

Their throat is like an open grave, and their tongues speak only lies. Their lips kill you like when an evil snake bites you.


lusumbe

From Dutch duizendbeen (now archaic, displaced by duizendpoot), cognate with Papiamentu lisimbein. For the l > d change, compare didon.

centipede (animal of the class Chilopoda)


broki

Aukan: booki

Saramaccan: boóki

→ Caribbean Javanese: broki

→ Caribbean Hindustani: broki

dock (a structure attached to shore for loading and unloading vessels)


apteiki

Aukan: aputeiki


bruya

Possibly from Dutch brouilleren (“to confuse, to confound, to muddy”).

der

broeja, brojafasi. Unordnung.

1783, C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Worterbuch [Negro English Dictionary], archived from the original on 2023-02-08:


manspasi

Na disi wawan de un trutru Manspasi: / firgit' fosten kodya, bigin opo pasi / fu meki mama Sranan waka go doro / pe toekomst de wakt' un, son opo na syoro, / wan dei di Sranan sa kon breiti, kon krin, / te nowan sa prefuru fu kosi un skin.

c. 1950, Albert Helman, Kot'singi [Tale-interrupting song], quoted in Adyosi / Afscheid, Stichting Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, published 1994, page 62:

This alone is our true Emancipation: / forget the cudgels of old, begin to open up roads / to allow Mother Suriname to march forward / to where the future awaits us, the sun rises at the shore, / a day that Suriname will rejoice, will be purified / when no one will dare to curse our skin colour.

Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’. / Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’. / Sensi manspasi kon, / uma no e teri man moro. / Yu mu kari den uma ‘den sani’.

c. 1957-1961, “Chapter 2. Folksongs (Religious Songs, Play Songs, Dance Tunes)”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, published 1975, →ISBN, page 64:

You should call women by 'those names'. / You should call women by 'those names'. / Since the emancipation came, / women don't respect men any more. You should call women by 'those names'.

a joe tanapoe lek kondre stonpopki / or' anoe a tap ede e sor keti koti / lek granman dede fafoedoe / arki joeroe e naki / jere n'apinti dron / tide a hondro jari manspasi / brok' a boei doro / di ankra joe kra/ djompo kon twist/ nanga den jongwenke / mindri / a bakafoetoe banja d'e pré

1968, Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout, “Asadoe”, in Moetete, Paramaribo: Eldorado, page 30:

It's you who stands as a statue of the nation / holding your hand above your head and showing the broken chain / please add this translation if you can / hear the hour chime / listen to the apinti drum / today it's hundred years since emancipation / cleaved the shackle / that fixated your soul / jump up and come twist along / with the maidens / amidst / the dance for the dead that's being performed


Manspasidei

Literally, “Emancipation Day”; compound of manspasi (“emancipation”) + dei (“day”).

Ef mi ben sab pe joe grebi de, / mi gran afo, di krodong tjari / kon na Sranan, / so farawe fjoe eegi doti, / biten tédei, Manspasidei / psa hondro jari di keti koti, / mi ben sa saka libi foto, / mi ben sa pari mi eegi boto / f'kon saka kiendie na joe sei.

1974 June 29, Fred W. Omskirk Sr., “Manspasi”, in Vrije Stem: onafhankelijk weekblad voor Suriname, page 1:

If I knew where yout grave was, my grand ancestor, whom forced labour / brought to Suriname / so far away from your own native soil, / early today, Emancipation Day / hundred years after the chains were broken, / I would have left the city, / I would have paddled my own boat / to come and kneel by your side.

Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day#English

Surinamese Emancipation Day, a national holiday in Suriname observed annually on 1 July


lontu-oso

Compound of lontu (“to confine”) + oso (“house”).


skowtu-oso

Compound of skowtu (“police”) + oso (“house”).


markusa

→ Dutch: markoesa

Borrowed from Kari'na merekuya and/or Lokono murukuya.


Doysri

Alternative form of Doisri (official spelling)


Doisri

From Dutch Duitser. Compare Japanese ドイツ (Doitsu, “Germany”).


agersitori

From a + gersi + tori, “it-is-like story”. Biblical parables often start like, for example, “the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king”, in Sranantongo “a Kownukondre fu heimel gersi wan kownu”.


siksiyuru

→ Dutch: siksiyuru

From siksi (“six”) + yuru (“hour”), called thus because they produce their strident “song” particularly at dusk, around six o’clock in the afternoon.

San ben libi, n'a singi fu den siksiyuru. / - Mi ben dape, Bato, gongote!

1975, Michaël Slory, “Koroni kawina [Coronie kawina]”, in Ursy M. Lichtveld, Jan Voorhoeve, editors, Creole drum. An Anthology of Creole Literature in Surinam, New Haven, London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 252:

What remained, was the song of the cicadas. / I was there, Bato, gongote!

A liba e dansi nanga den skwala fu a libi / siksiyuru e bari, den wiwiri e dansi / Prisiri ala pe, yu kan yere a grontapu singi a harmoni

2023, Humphrey Koulen (lyrics and music), “Na So Mi Wan Fu Syi Kresneti”, performed by Tarnaz Amarello:

The river is dancing with the waves of life / the cicadas are resounding, the leaves are dancing / Rejoicing everywhere, you can hear the earth singing the harmony

true cicada (any cicada of the family Cicadidae)


fowtow

From Dutch foto, reflecting the Northern Dutch phonetic realisation /ˈfɔʊ.tɔʊ/.


katibo

Aukan: katibo

Saramaccan: katibo

Likely from Portuguese cativo (“slave”), ultimately probably from Latin captīvus. Compare Papiamentu katibu (“slave”).


daguwe

Synonym of daguwesneki (“boa constrictor”)


agidya

Probably from Ewe dzridzá (“hedgehog”), Fon àjijá (“hedgehog”).

Brazilian porcupine
Brazilian porcupine#English

Brazilian porcupine, Coendou prehensilis


Swiska

Ultimately from Middle High German Swīzer.

Na ini den jari 1772 kon miti 1777, wan kapten di den kari John Gabriel Stedman, ben teki prati na ini a feti foe makti den lowenengre na ini Sranankondre. A Ingrisman ben de kapten foe den matrosi foe Kononèl Fourgeoud, wan Swiska.

1968, R. Dobru, “A feti fu Gado Sabi [The war of Gado Sabi]”, in Moetete, number 2, Paramaribo: Eldorado, page 2:

In the years from 1772 to 1777, a captain called John Gabriel Stedman took part in the war to subdue the Maroons in Suriname. This Briton was captain of the marines of colonel Fourgeoud, a Swiss.


sebrefata

(dated, derogatory, offensive) scum, wretch, bastard


demokrâsia

Learned borrowing from Latin dēmocratia, from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokratíā).


berpe

Aukan: belipe


o-o

From earlier hoho, probably from Fon ʁóχò (“twin”).