Fulani
Americannoun
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Also Fulah a member of a pastoral and nomadic people of mixed African and Mediterranean ancestry, scattered through western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon.
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the language of the Fulani, a Niger-Congo language closely related to Wolof.
noun
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the language of the Fula, belonging to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family, widely used as a trade pidgin in W Africa
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another name for Fula
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a humped breed of cattle from W Africa
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The nomadic Fulani and Tuareg communities have been particularly targeted, often accused of links to jihadists or separatists.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Ngozi Fulani, from Sistah Space, a London based charity which supports women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by domestic and sexual abuse, said behaviour following trauma was often misunderstood.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
"Muslim, Christian, no problem. The Fulani are our brothers, the indigenes are our brothers, all," he says.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
He delivered the message in both the Bambara and Fulani languages, a sign that he hopes to unite the different communities in Mali.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
They tell of the great herds of the Fulani, who peddle their hides even upon the Slave Coast, whence my mother was dispatched.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Goodluck Jonathan – who served from 2010 to 2015 – had a relatively balanced team of two ethnic Fulanis, two Hausas, one Atyap, one Igbo, one Yoruba and one Calabar.
From BBC ● May 26, 2025
Most of the herders belong to the Fulanis, an ethnic group.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2023
The growth of militancy among Buhari’s ethnic Fulanis has only fuelled simplistic narratives further.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 31, 2020
“It is not as if the world is so simple — that Fulanis are bad and Beroms are good. Both groups have both kinds of people. We have to be on the side of peace.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2018
Since then, Fulanis have been calling — so far, without success — for the arrest and prosecution of the attackers.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
