Where does “African” come from?
African comes from Old English Africanas, a term for inhabitants of Africa whose ultimate origin and earliest meaning are not documented.
African (English): Of or pertaining to Africa; Black; synonym of...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to Africa; Black; synonym of...
Ancestry of “African”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | Affrican | African person |
| 2 | Latin | africanus | African |
| 3 | Latin | Āfrica | the territory of Carthage, the African coast west of Cyrenaica |
| 4 | Latin | āfricus | African |
| 5 | Latin | Āfri | — |
| 6 | Albanian | afër | at, beside, by, near, nearby, near to, next to |
| 7 | Proto-Albanian | apsera | at, beside, by, near, nearby, near to, next to |
| 8 | Proto-Albanian | aps | — |
| 9 | Latin | Apis | A seaport town of Egypt situated at the borders with Marmarica |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | Ἄπις | — |
| 11 | Coptic | ϩⲁⲡⲉ | the Apis bull, a bull worshipped as a herald of the gods (first Ptah, then Osiris, then Atum) |
| 12 | Egyptian | ḥp | the god Apis |