African

[af-ri-kuhn]

adjective

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

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Africa.

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

African

/ ˈæfrɪkən /

adjective

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

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of African¹

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

Example Sentences

With less than a fortnight to go before Ivory Coast's presidential election, three other west African states -- all ruled by military juntas -- have been waging a disinformation campaign to disrupt the vote.

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As is the case in many African countries, skilled farmers, with generations of knowledge, face a host of challenges.

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This week, the Spanish capital has been hosting an African Union-backed "world conference on people of African descent".

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Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Nigeria kept alive hopes of swelling the African representation to 10 nations by finishing as the four best-ranked runners-up.

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Nigeria were ahead within three minutes through Osimhen while Mbatha scored the first South African goal with just five minutes gone.

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