The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation: [zaː.ɪr]; French: République du Zaïre) was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971, and May 17, 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the Portuguese: Zaire, itself a mispronunciation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers")Peter Forbath, The River Congo, p. 19 and is often—inaccurately—still used to refer to that state.