tokoloshe

Where does the word "tokoloshe" come from? It comes from Xhosa uthikoloshe, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Tokoloshe’s story begins in Xhosa: uthikoloshe meant “a mischievous water spirit.” A dwarf-like trickster spirit in Nguni folklore, also borrowed as Zulu utokoloshe. It reached English by 1900s as tokoloshe. People traditionally raise their beds on bricks to keep the tokoloshe away. Today, tokoloshe means a mischievous or malevolent spirit in southern African folklore, said to be small and impish.

1. Stage 1 · Xhosa · 1830s uthikoloshe "a mischievous water spirit", a dwarf-like trickster spirit in Nguni folklore, also borrowed as Zulu utokoloshe.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s tokoloshe "a mischievous, malevolent spirit of southern African folklore", people traditionally raise their beds on bricks to keep the tokoloshe away.