# African

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈæf.ɹɪ.kən/ · frequency rank #1,590

## Definitions
1. Of or pertaining to Africa.
2. Black; (dated, offensive) synonym of negroid.

## Etymology
Attested as a noun in early New English Aphricane, Africans (plural), Middle English as Affrican, Aufrican and Old English as Africanas (“Africans”) (only plural). From Latin āfricānae, from āfricānus, from Āfricus.
The adjective appears in the 16th century, as Affricane, Africane, African.
Latin Āfricus is from Āfri (singular Āfer), the name of an ancient people of North Africa (near Carthage, in Tunisia), with the suffix -icus. āfricānus is formed by addition of the -ānus suffix.
By surface analysis, Africa + -an.

## Easily confused with
- **Arian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/african-vs-arian)
- **American** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/african-vs-american)
- **Africa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/africa-vs-african)
- **Adrian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/adrian-vs-african)

## Common misspellings (10)
`affrican`, `afircan`, `afrcian`, `afriacn`, `africann`, `africcan`, `africna`, `afrrican`, `arfican`, `farican`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/african