Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Africa - 6 reference results

Af⋅ri⋅ca

[af-ri-kuh]
–noun
1. a continent S of Europe and between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. 551,000,000; ab. 11,700,000 sq. mi. (30,303,000 sq. km).
–adjective
2. African.

Af⋅ri⋅can

[af-ri-kuhn]
–adjective
1. Also, Africa. of or from Africa; belonging to the black peoples of Africa
–noun
2. a native or inhabitant of Africa.
3. (loosely) a black or other person of African ancestry.

Origin:
< L Āfricānus, equiv. to Āfric(us) Afric + -ānus -an; cf. ME Aufrican, OE Africanas (nom. pl.)


Af⋅ri⋅can⋅ness, noun
Af·ri·ca   (āf'rĭ-kə)   
The second-largest continent, connected to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez and lying between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Africa

The second-largest continent, after Asia; located south of Europe and bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by the Indian Ocean.

Note: Africa has been the home of great civilizations, particularly in Egypt, along the Mediterranean Sea. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European nations colonized much of the continent (see colonialism). In the twentieth century, the colonies became independent countries.
Note: Africa south of the Sahara is sometimes called sub-Saharan Africa.
Note: Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit especially hard by HIV/AIDS, drastically decreasing the life expectancy of much of the population.

Africa 
L. Africa (terra) "African land," fem. of Africus, from Afer "an African." Africanas "Africans" was in O.E. There are isolated instances of African-American from at least 1863 (Afro-American is attested from 1853), but the modern use is a re-invention first attested 1969 (in reference to the African-American Teachers Association) which became the preferred term in some circles for "U.S. black" (n. or adj.) by the late 1980s.
Search another word or see Africa on Dictionary | Thesaurus
FacebookTwitterFollow us: