From French oranges (“oranges”). In French, the plural form oranges is commonly preceded by a determiner- such as aux, les or mes- whose final s or x is pronounced /z/ before vowels (and is otherwise silent). As a result, oranges was reanalyzed in Haitian Creole as beginning with /z/.
zoranj
Derived from a French plural determiner—such as aux, des, les, or mes—and French oranges (“oranges”). In French, these determiners' final ⟨s⟩ or ⟨x⟩ is pronounced /z/ before vowels (and is otherwise silent). As a result, the /z/ was re-analyzed in Louisiana Creole as part of the noun and probably from there the adjective.
zoranj
zoranj
| blan | gri | nwa, nwar |
| rouj | zoranj; brun, maron | jonn, jònn |
| vè, vèr, vær, væt | vè fonsé | |
| sèrsèl | blé, ble | |
| vyolé, vyolèt | lila | ròz, roz |