English word origin

Etymology of Ebola

From French Ebola, from Northern Ngbandi Legbala (literally “white water”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

A river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From French Ebola, from Northern Ngbandi Legbala (literally “white water”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionEbolafr
Derivation mentionLegbalangb

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "Ebola"
      },
      "expansion": "French Ebola"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ngb",
        "3": "Legbala",
        "lit": "white water"
      },
      "expansion": "Northern Ngbandi Legbala (literally “white water”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Ebola",
      "Ebola#French"
    ],
    [
      "Legbala",
      "Legbala#Northern_Ngbandi"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "a10daff857327177b6c60491f887c3a06c0e4be7d73cc1b6b976260947c2bf9c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ac4947a404c51aed560c99824c2d9945556c77e05106a564de22c882a2b968d9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 343873
    }
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

The Ebola virus. · Ebola fever.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Named after the river, which flowed near the first outbreak of Ebola that was first identified as Ebola. Reports conflict about who initially coined the name: either Karl Johnson of the American Centers for Disease Control or Belgian researchers.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The Ebola virus.",
        "Ebola fever."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "0e71f232584d891319566a780316404aeaf7f9245faf1ee84e1a9ca87f198b91",
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Ebola →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-RWJvbGE