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Cameroons

[kam-uh-roonz]
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noun (used with a singular verb)
  1. German Kamerun. a region in W Africa: a German protectorate 1884–1919; divided in 1919 into British and French mandates.
  2. Also called British Cameroons. the NW part of this region: a British mandate 1919–46 and trusteeship 1946–61; by a 1961 plebiscite the S part (Southern Cameroons) joined the United Republic of Cameroon and the N part (Northern Cameroons) joined Nigeria.
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Related formsCam·e·roon·i·an, adjective, noun

Cameroon

[kam-uh-roon]
noun
  1. Also Cameroun. Official name United Republic of Cameroon. an independent republic in W Africa: formed 1960 by the French trusteeship of Cameroun; Southern Cameroons incorporated as a self-governing province 1961. 183,350 sq. mi. (474,877 sq. km). Capital: Yaoundé.
  2. an active volcano in W Cameroon: highest peak on the coast of W Africa. 13,370 feet (4075 meters).
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Related formsCam·e·roon·i·an, adjective, nounpro-Came·roon, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cameroons

Historical Examples

  • "They would have taken me for the Cameroons, but somebody had to stay," he said quietly.

    The Keepers of the King's Peace

    Edgar Wallace

  • Erzerum had balanced Kut, and the Cameroons had ceased to be a German land.

  • The principal work of the winter was the reduction of the Cameroons.

  • For some mysterious reason they again took ship and came to the Cameroons, where he learned German.

    Aliens

    William McFee

  • They afterwards came to be called Cameroons, and are mostly so spoken of in the books of English buccaneers.

British Dictionary definitions for cameroons

Cameroon

noun
  1. a republic in West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea: became a German colony in 1884; divided in 1919 into the Cameroons (administered by Britain) and Cameroun (administered by France); Cameroun and the S part of the Cameroons formed a republic in 1961 (the N part joined Nigeria); became a member of the Commonwealth in 1995. Official languages: French and English. Religions: Christian, Muslim, and animist. Currency: franc. Capital: Yaoundé. Pop: 20 549 221 (2013 est). Area: 475 500 sq km (183 591 sq miles)French name: Cameroun German name: Kamerun
  2. an active volcano in W Cameroon: the highest peak on the West African coast. Height: 4070 m (13 352 ft)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
cameroons in Culture

Cameroon

[(kam-uh-roohn)]

Republic in west-central Africa, bordered by Nigeria to the northwest, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea to the south, and the Gulf of Guinea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) to the west. Yaounde is its capital, and Douala is its largest city.

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Note

Cameroon was under British and French control from World War I until 1960.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.