köken: Attested 1832, but the 1765 Encyclopédie (t. 11, p. 82a, s.v. nègre) already has zambys «dieux esprits des tribus africaines». Borrowed from Haitian Creole zonbi, from a Bantu language.
köken: thây (“corpse”) + ma (“ghost”). Attested already in Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651), although apparently then meant merely "corpse" or "the dead"; later adopted to the concept of "zombie".
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ser-der. Proto-Italic *sortis Early Medieval Latin sors Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Early Medieval Latin -āriusnom. Early Medieval Latin -ārius Early Medieval Latin sortiārius Old French sorcier French sorcierder. ▲ Old French sorcierder. Middle English sorcer- Middle English -er Middle English sorcerere English sorcererder. Esperanto…