means A reanimated corpse from folklore and horror fiction that walks and hunts without consciousness, typically craving human flesh or brains.

from From Haitian Creole 'zonbi,' carried across the Atlantic in the slave trade and rooted in West African languages — Kikongo 'nzambi' (god, spirit) and 'zumbi' (fetish) are the usual suspects. In Haitian Vodou belief, a zombie was a corpse revived and enslaved by a sorcerer, a horror tied to the real horror of bondage. The word surfaced in English in the early 20th century and was set loose into pop culture by tales of Haiti, then films — long before the brain-hungry shamblers of modern cinema took over.