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sou·cou·yant

(s-k-yäɴ)

In Caribbean folklore, a malevolent witch who sheds her skin at night, transforms into a flying ball of fire that can slip through keyholes and small spaces, and sucks the blood of sleeping victims.

[East Antillean French Creole soukouyan, ultimately from Soninke (Mande language of Mali, Senegal, and the Gambia) suxuña, shape-shifting cannibal witch (possibly via Serer (Atlantic Niger-Congo language of Senegal and the Gambia) sukuyan and kindred forms in other West African langauges).]

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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