Where does “Africa” come from?
Africa (Italian) comes from Latin Africa, from English Africa, from Old French Affrike, from Latin āfricus, from Latin Āfri, from Albanian afër, from Proto-Albanian apsera, from Proto-Albanian aps — the god Apis.
Ancestry of “Africa”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | Africa | the territory of Carthage, the African coast west of Cyrenaica |
| 2 | English | Africa | contrasted with the Maghreb |
| 3 | Old French | Affrike | — |
| 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 |