mokele-mbembe

English

Alternative forms

• mokele mbembe
• Mokele-mbembe
• Mokele-Mbembe
• mokèlé-mbèmbé
• Mokèlé-mbèmbé

Etymology

From Lingala, possibly meaning "one who stops the flow of rivers", or "rainbow".

Noun

mokele-mbembe (plural mokele-mbembes)

1. A large water-dwelling cryptid described in legends of the Congo River basin.
   • 1995, Tom Logsdon, Understanding the Navstar:

     The mokele mbembes' favorite hangout was a big lake frequented by the local fishermen […]

   • 2003, Robert Todd Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary:

     Local pygmies, who have given the creature its name, have allegedly encountered the mokele-mbembe, which they say is the size of an elephant […]

   • 2005, Rich Gray, Click or Treat: The Best of Halloween and Horror on the Internet:

     The swamps are intersected by many rivers, and the whole region is lush and largely inaccessible, providing any number of Mokele-Mbembes adequate food […]