African

American  

[af-ri-kuhn] / ˈæf rɪ kən /

adjective

1. of or from Africa; belonging to the Black peoples of Africa.

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noun

• Africans
  plural

1. a native or inhabitant of Africa.

2. (loosely) a Black person or other person of African ancestry.

African British  

/ ˈæfrɪkən /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to Africa or any of its peoples, languages, nations, etc

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noun

1. a native, inhabitant, or citizen of any of the countries of Africa

2. a member or descendant of any of the peoples of Africa, esp a Black person

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Africanness
  noun
• inter-African
  adjective
• non-African
  adjective
• proAfrican
  adjective
• pseudo-African
  adjective
• trans-African
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Africans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of African

First recorded before 1000 for noun, 1540–60 for adjective; Middle English noun Affrican, Aufrican “an inhabitant of North Africa or the Roman province of Africa (approximately modern Tunisia),” Old English noun Africanas “Africans” (accusative plural), from Late Latin Āfricānus “an inhabitant of Africa,” from Latin adjective Āfricānus “pertaining to Africa, African,” from Āfrica (short for terra Āfrica “African land”) “the continent of Africa, the Roman province of Africa,” a derivative of Āfrī, plural of adjective and noun Āfer ( Āfra, Āfrum ) “pertaining to Africa, African,” as a noun “an inhabitant of North Africa”; further etymology uncertain; possibly akin to Phoenician ʾafar “dust”; possibly the name of a local Libyan tribe ancestral to the Berbers

Compare meaning

How does african compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• African vs. Indian elephant

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

African Africans

Both are from the African country Burkina Faso.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the North African coast, bordering Morocco and separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The fish included golden African snappers, blackbar soldierfish, Guinean angelfish, West African goatfish, the Monrovia doctorfish, three-banded butterflyfish, and two species of damselfish.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

He has said the offering, which closes October 13, will be the biggest IPO in African history and has encouraged participation by small investors, including people on lower incomes.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

By the summer of 1781, Isaac and the rest of Jefferson’s enslaved people had joined thousands of African Americans in this small tobacco port on the Chesapeake Bay.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Finding Britain's Slave Traders with David Olusoga is a new two-part series that explores the individuals, institutions and organisations who financed Britain's trade of enslaved Africans.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Enslaved Africans had lived in New York since its days as a Dutch colony.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Poverty, unemployment and bureaucratic red tape force tens of millions of Africans into work that is not regulated, taxed or protected by the government.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Like many South Africans, most workers in the area live hand-to-mouth, with no savings to fall back on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Perhaps it was because he did not have that familiar superiority of English people who thought they understood Africans better than Africans understood themselves and, instead, had an endearing uncertainty about him—almost a shyness.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie