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

The company, founded by American billionaire Jeff Bezos, will partner with South African internet provider Herotel, it said on its website.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

For example Riyad Mahrez, a former African player of the year, was born in Clichy, France, but plays for Algeria, while Senegal’s Ibrahim Mbaye is from Trappes, Yvelines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Infantino said that the first 48-team World Cup has been "a huge success", citing the progression of nine out of ten African teams to the knockout stages.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

In recent months, Wagner veterans and their allies have tightened their hold on the business, say researchers and traders in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Back then the same people we now call African American or Black were called Colored or Negro.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

The revelations at the Madlanga Commission, in progress for 10 months, have gripped South Africans and they are eager to hear how Matlala responds.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

But it was extremely hypocritical of the U.S. to condemn the Barbary states for enslaving a few hundred Americans given, you know, the extensive enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Africans on American soil.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Beyond saying that it would only take west Africans, Accra has not revealed the terms of the agreement.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Indeed, there is an argument the North Africans should really be favourites.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

At the time, black South Africans outnumbered white South Africans nearly five to one, yet we were divided into different tribes with different languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Sotho, Venda, Ndebele, Tsonga, Pedi, and more.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah