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mam·bo

(mämbō)

n. pl. mam·bos

1. A dance in 4/4 time of Latin American origin, resembling the rumba.

2. The music for this dance.

intr.v. mam·boed, mam·bo·ing, mam·bos

To perform this dance.

[Cuban Spanish, from Haitian Creole manbo, voodoo priestess (the extended drum breaks in mambo music being likened by Cuban musicians to a voodoo priestess's ecstatic trance), perhaps from Kongo màmbu, message, conversation, ritual negotiation, plural of diàmbu, word.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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