Dark Continent, The

American  

noun

1. Africa: so called, especially during the 19th century, because little was known about it.

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Etymology

Origin of Dark Continent, The

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Mazower is professor of history at Columbia and author of Dark Continent, the acclaimed study of the forces that shaped 20th century Europe.

From The Guardian

If inferior in breadth to the mighty Amazon, if it lacks the length of the Mississippi, if without the stupendous gorges and cataracts of the Yang-tse-Kiang of China, if missing the ancient castles of the Rhine, if wanting the lonely grandeur that still overhangs the Congo of the Dark Continent, the Great River of Canada has features as remarkable as any of these.

From Project Gutenberg

The gorilla, reigning king of beasts in the forests of the Congo, his somewhat lesser relative, the chimpanzee, which tenants a wide area of the Dark Continent, the orang-utan of Borneo, and the gibbon of tropical Asia, diversified as they are in form and habitat, are all equally circumspect in their adherence to the diet of nuts and fruits, tender shoots and soft grains, foods which Nature has prescribed as the primate's bill of fare.

From Project Gutenberg

Completely lost to his surroundings, and absorbed in tales of the wild beasts and wilder men of the Dark Continent, the boy read on and on until the failing light warned him that his lamp was about to go out for want of oil.

From Project Gutenberg

Interest in travel and exploration was at its height, and the attention of adventurers centered in the Dark Continent, the last of the great unknown regions of the world to be explored.

From Project Gutenberg