African

[af-ri-kuhn]

adjective

1. of or from Africa; belonging to the Black peoples of Africa.

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Africa.

2. (loosely) a Black person or other person of African ancestry.

African

/ ˈæfrɪkən /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to Africa or any of its peoples, languages, nations, etc

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

• Africanness noun
• inter-African adjective
• non-African adjective
• proAfrican adjective
• pseudo-African adjective
• trans-African adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of African¹

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

Example Sentences

But he is worried that Indian exporters may lose ground to African competitors who offer similar quality products at lower prices.

From BBC

Here, promoted to number four, he climbed into the South African spinners with five fours and three sixes.

From BBC

This will be the 16th outbreak of the deadly virus in the vast central African state that has poor health services, and is hit by conflict in the east.

From BBC

She only began three years ago, with a cabbage crop, and to help she uses an app called AI-Farmer, which recognises several South African languages, including Sesotho, isiZulu and Afrikaans, to help solve various problems.

From BBC

Comparatively, there were two players from New Zealand and West Indies and four South Africans.

From BBC