English words from Jamaican Creole
- wineAn alcoholic beverage made by fermenting grape juice, with an ABV ranging from 5.5–16%.
- reggaeA music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close vocal harmonies.
- rudyA rude boy; a member of a Jamaican street gang in the 1960s and 70s.
- pengA legendary enormous bird.
- nangA metal bulb filled with nitrous oxide gas, inhaled for its disassociative effects, normally intended as a propellant for whipped cream.
- jukeA roadside cafe or bar, especially one with dancing and sometimes prostitution.
- riddimAn instrumental version of a song in Jamaican or Caribbean music, usually with a drum pattern and a prominent bassline, meant to be reused as a backing track in other productions.
- cahBecause.
- irieCool, nice.
- juxTo rob or mug (someone).
- dreadlocksA hairstyle worn by Rastafarians and others in which the hair is left to grow long, and twisted into matted strings.
- bruckBroke; having no money.
- preeto heed, to take notice of or pay attention to
- creptrainer (sports shoe)
- nizeTo shut up; to stop talking.
- jookTo dodge; to move quickly to avoid something or to hide; to dart away.
- rudeboyA male juvenile delinquent, originally in Jamaica in the 1960s.
- fawadTo come.
- abengAn animal (usually bull) horn used by the Maroon people of Jamaica as a musical instrument; and also (historical) formerly by slaveholders to summon slaves to canefields and by the Maroon army to communicate cryptic messages over great distances.
- AccompongA village in Saint Elizabeth parish, Jamaica.
- baby daddyThe biological father of a child in common, particularly one who did not marry the mother and provides little or no support for the mother and child.
- balmyardA place where obeah and related healing rituals are performed.
- bangarangA commotion.
- ChineyChina; Chinese.
- Chiney KA Chinese-made imitation Kalashnikov rifle.
- from me bornSince the time I was born; during my entire life.
- gyal demgroup of girls or women
- jubieA young woman.
- labrishTalkative, gossipy.
- likkleLittle.
- mampygrossly overweight; obese
- mandemA group of men or boys; male friends or fellow gang members.
- MoBayMontego Bay
- paigonAn untrustworthy person; a person who deliberately acts against one's interests.
- seckleTo settle down, relax.
- sufferationSuffering, especially due to poverty or repression.
- the cow knows not the worth of its tail till it loses itSynonym of you never miss the water till the well runs dry.
- wagwanA greeting, equivalent to what's up or what's happening.