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

What does the three-year loan mean for the west African nation?

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Impala Platinum reported a net profit of 31.04 billion South African rand for the fiscal year ended June 30, up from 761 million rand last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

The IMF loan programme, economists say, provides a catalyst for financing from other institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, private investors and others.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Mofokeng was among the more than 200 people injured and recent estimates by South African researchers have revised upwards the number who died to as many as 91.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

I prayed for the souls and families of physicist Dr. Ronald McNair, the second African American astronaut to go to space, and Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to become an astronaut.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

European accounts dating back to the 15th Century recorded that many west Africans were highly skilled swimmers and divers.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Four South Africans travelling with the same Alpine Eco Trek agency as the missing British citizens were missing, according to the tourism board.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

In mid-February, the All Eyes on Wagner collective published the names of more than 1,400 Africans it said Moscow had recruited between January 2023 and September 2025.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

One of the key counter-arguments centres on the fact that some Africans were themselves complicit in the capture and sale of their fellow people.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

If a long head start counts for anything, why didn’t guns and steel arise first in Africa, permitting Africans and their germs to conquer Europe?

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond