Africa
/ˈæf.ɹə.kə/UK/ˈæf.ɹɪ.kə/
Africa proper noun: the continent that is south of Europe, east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and north of Antarctica.
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Proper noun
Africa (countable and uncountable, plural Africas)
- The continent that is south of Europe, east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and north of Antarctica.
- the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa
- As Russia’s foothold in Africa expands – notably in the mineral-rich Sahel region that is beset by recurring coups, armed rebellion and extremist insurgency – anti-Western sentiments, partly fueled by Russian propaganda, are engineering the exit of Western troops from swathes of territory.2025 January 18, Nimi Princewill, “Across Africa, Russia is growing in influence. What might Moscow want?”, in CNN
- Synonyms:
- Dark Continent
- Sub-Saharan Africa, contrasted with the Maghreb.
- The Sahara stood as an important marker between the Maghreb and Africa, not only in modern times but in times immemorial.2021 June 10, Abdelmajid Hannoum, The Invention of the Maghreb: Between Africa and the Middle East, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 205
- A former province of the Roman Empire, containing what is now Tunisia, northeastern Algeria and portions of coastal Libya; existing from 146 BC (initially in the Roman Republic) through 698 AD, except for 439 through 534 AD, when it was occupied by the Vandals.
- A surname.
Africa meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
Africa in Hindi
- continent
- अफ़्रीका afrīkā
Africa in Tamil
- continent
- ஆப்பிரிக்கா āppirikkā
Africa in Marathi
- continent
- आफ्रिका āphrikā
- historical: province of the Roman Empire
- आफ्रिका āphrikā
Africa in Urdu
- continent
- اَفْرِیقَہ afrīqa, اَفْرِیقا afrīqā
More languagesFewer languages
- Africa in Bengali
- আফ্রিকা aphrika
- Africa in Telugu
- ఆఫ్రికా āphrikā
- Africa in Malayalam
- ആഫ്രിക്ക āphrikka
- Africa in Kannada
- ಆಫ್ರಿಕಾ āphrikā
- Africa in Punjabi
- ਅਫ਼ਰੀਕਾ afarīkā
- Africa in Gujarati
- આફ્રિકા āphrikā
- Africa in Odia
- ଆଫ୍ରିକା āphrikā
- Africa in Sanskrit
- कुशद्वीप kuśadvīpa
- Africa in Sinhala
- අප්රිකාව aprikāwa
- Africa in Nepali
- अफ्रिका aphrikā
- Africa in Pashto
- افريقا afrīqā
- Africa in Tagalog
- Aprika
- Africa in Arabic
- أَفْرِيقِيَا ʔafrīqiyā, إِفْرِيقِيَا ʔifrīqiyā
- Africa in Malay
- Afrika
- Africa in Thai
- แอฟริกา ɛ́p-frí-gaa
- Africa in Vietnamese
- Châu Phi, Phi Châu, Phi
- Africa in Myanmar
- အာဖရိက ahpa.ri.ka.
- Sindhi
- آفريڪا āfrekā
- Dhivehi
- އެފްރިކާ efrikā
- Kashmiri
- اَفریٖقہ afrīqh
- Dzongkha
- ཨཕ་རི་ཀ aph ri ka
Synonyms of Africa
Forms of Africa
| plural | Africas |
|---|---|
| alternative sometimes | Afrika |
| alternative form (archaic) | Affrike |
| alternative poetic (archaic) | Afric |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Africk |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Afficky |
Origin of Africa
Inherited from Middle English Affrike, from Old French Affrique, Affrike, from Latin Āfrica, from Āfrī, singular Āfer (inhabitant of the country of Carthage), in turn either from: * The Punic or Phoenician word 𐤏𐤐𐤓 (ʿpr /ʿafar/, “dust”), from Proto-Semitic *ʕapar- (“dust, soil”), which has cognates in other Semitic languages. * The Berber word ifri (“cave”), plural ifran, in reference to cave dwellers of Tunisia (see Tataouine). Folk etymologies include: * Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) + φρίκη f (phríkē), meaning "without cold" * Latin aprica (“sunny”).
Words formed from Africa
- Afrabia
- Afrasia
- Africa-Eurasia
- African
- Africa time
- Africatown
- Africa-wide
- Africologist
- Africology
- Africoonia
- Afrihili
- Apefreaka
- Apefrica
- Black Africa
- blackest Africa
- British Central Africa
- darkest Africa
- East Africa
- Eurafrasia
- Eurafrica
- French Equatorial Africa
- German East Africa
- hinge of Africa
- Horn of Africa
- Memfrica
- Mem-frica
- Memphrica
- North Africa
- Pearl of Africa
- Portuguese East Africa
- Portuguese West Africa
- Soufrica
- South Africa
- South West Africa
- sub-Saharan Africa
- West Africa
Phrases with Africa
Words that rhyme with Africa
Questions about Africa
- What does Africa mean?
- Africa means the continent that is south of Europe, east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and north of Antarctica.
- What is Africa in Hindi?
- Africa in Hindi is अफ़्रीका (afrīkā). See Africa meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is Africa?
- Africa is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Africa?
- Africa is pronounced /ˈæf.ɹɪ.kə/ (UK).
Words near Africa in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Africa (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Justinrleung-Africa.wav.
Cite this entry: “Africa.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/africa. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.