'anansi' originates from Akan (a language of Ghana), specifically the word 'Ananse,' where 'ananse' meant 'spider.'

'Ananse' was brought to the Caribbean and Americas through the transatlantic slave trade and eventually became the modern English word 'anansi' in folklore.

Initially, it meant 'spider,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a trickster figure in folklore, often depicted as a spider.'