Etymograph

English

soukous

Soukous comes from French secouer ‘to shake’.

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentsecouer1‘to shake’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2007soukous1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English soukous
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Kelefa Sanneh, Preppie Afro-Pop and Other Odd Blends: “The title makes reference to Congolese soukous music, and…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentsecouerWiktionary, English soukous‘to shake’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2007soukousWiktionary, English soukous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Kelefa Sanneh, Preppie Afro-Pop and Other Odd Blends: “The title makes reference to Congolese soukous music, and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kuh₁t-yé-ti

pasta, paste, pastiche, patisserie, 26 more

through Latin quatiō ‘shake’

cashier, concussion, quash, fracas, casco, repercussion, casse, 16 more

through French secouer ‘to shake’

zouk

Today it means

noun A genre of African popular music, resembling rumba, that originated in the Congo region in the 1930s.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “soukous”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / French secouer / soukous

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