Fulani
Americannoun
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Fulanis,
plural
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Fulani
plural
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Also Fulah a member of a pastoral and nomadic people of mixed African and Mediterranean ancestry, scattered through western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon.
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the language of the Fulani, a Niger-Congo language closely related to Wolof.
noun
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the language of the Fula, belonging to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family, widely used as a trade pidgin in W Africa
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another name for Fula
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a humped breed of cattle from W Africa
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The bandits are mostly people from the Fulani ethnic group, who traditionally make their living by raising animals.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The nomadic Fulani and Tuareg communities have been particularly targeted, often accused of links to jihadists or separatists.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
While those considered "settlers" include many from Muslim communities, like the Fulani, even if they have lived on the land for generations.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
He delivered the message in both the Bambara and Fulani languages, a sign that he hopes to unite the different communities in Mali.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
They tell of the great herds of the Fulani, who peddle their hides even upon the Slave Coast, whence my mother was dispatched.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
It happens that in Plateau, and other parts of central Nigeria, most farmers belong to majority Christian ethnic groups, while most herders are Muslim Fulanis.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
Most of the herders belong to the Fulanis, an ethnic group.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2023
The growth of militancy among Buhari’s ethnic Fulanis has only fuelled simplistic narratives further.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 31, 2020
“It is not as if the world is so simple — that Fulanis are bad and Beroms are good. Both groups have both kinds of people. We have to be on the side of peace.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2018
A group of Fulanis in the New York region are now organizing a nationwide campaign in the United States to draw attention to their quest for justice.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
