Abyssinian

A group of Abyssinians are astride horses in brightly colored saddles at the top of the hill across the valley.

2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, Canongate Books (2020), page 308:


centavo

A similar subdenomination of various other currencies (in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and the Philippines).

São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe

(historical) The former subdenomination of some other currencies (in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Puerto Rico, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Venezuela).


relegate

First attested circa 1550: from the Classical Latin relēgātus (“banished person, exile”), the nominative singular masculine substantive form of relēgātus, the past participle of relēgō (“to dispatch, banish”).

uder

(history, obsolete) A person who has been banished from proximity to Rome for a set time, but without losing his civil rights.


pound

en-noun

pound (plural pounds or (UK colloquial) pound)

pounds (plural)
pound (UK colloquial plural)

From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull, stretch”).
Cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Danish pund and Swedish pund. Doublet of pood and punt.

der

an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves

He glanced back through what he had read and, while feeling his water flow quietly, he envied kindly Mr Beaufoy who had written it and received payment of three pounds, thirteen and six.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 4]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

A unit of currency in various currency systems.

Any of various units of currency used in Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria, and formerly in the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Israel and South Africa.


Morocco

→ Japanese: モロッコ (Morokko)

Earlier spelling Marocco, from Portuguese Marrocos and/or Spanish Marruecos, from Arabic مُرَّاكُش (murrākuš), from Berber ⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ (amur n akuc, literally “Land of God”). The word originally referred to the capital city of Marrakech (founded late 11th c.), but came to be used as a pars pro toto for the westernmost region of the Islamic world. Compare older Arabic مُرَّاكُش (murrākuš) (now اَلْمَغْرِب (al-maḡrib)), Persian مراکش (marâkeš), Medieval Latin Marrochium. Turkish refers to the country as Fas from Fez, another former capital. Doublet of Marrakech.

Kingdom of Morocco
Kingdom of Morocco#English

A country in North Africa. Official name: Kingdom of Morocco. Capital: Rabat.

Eʼeʼaahjí Ghą́ą́ʼaskʼidii Biłikahii Bikéyah


South Africa

/ˌsaʊθ ˈæf.ɹɪ.kə/

[sɑɤ̯ˈθɛ̞frɘkə]

From Union of South Africa, the country's former official name, referring to its origin from the unification of four formerly separate British colonies.

South Africa
South Africa (disambiguation)

Republic of South Africa
Republic of South Africa#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of South Africa. Capitals: Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein.

Kéyah Naakai Łizhinii Bikéyah Shádiʼááhjí Siʼánígíí

With the exception of the Portuguese Colonies, the Journal is franked to all parts of South Africa.

1901 March 15, The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 1, page 1:

(now nonstandard) Southern Africa (a region of Africa).


Tunisia

A country in North Africa. Capital: Tunis.

Ottoman Tunisia; the Eyalet of Tunis, from 1534 to 1881

French protectorate of Tunisia, from 1881 to 1956


Cape Verde

Partial calque of Portuguese Cabo Verde, from cabo (“cape”) + verde (“green”).

In the Cape Verde Islands, the electoral victory of Movement for Democracy ushered out sixteen years of one-party rule.

1992, Richard Nixon, “The Southern Hemisphere”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 250:

Republic of Cabo Verde
Republic of Cabo Verde#English

An archipelago and country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Cabo Verde.


Libya

→ Korean: 리비아 (Ribia)

Via Latin Libya, from Ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē). English since the 16th century.

A country in North Africa. Capital: Tripoli.


Equatorial Guinea

/ˌɛkwəˈtɔːɹiəl ˈɡɪni/

Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Republic of Equatorial Guinea#English

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Capital: Malabo.


Burundi

Former name: Urundi

Republic of Burundi
Republic of Burundi#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Burundi.


Algeria

→ Japanese: アルジェリア (Arujeria)

/ælˈdʒɪəɹiə/

From Alger + -ia, modified based on French Algérie, from the French Alger (“Algiers”) + -ie, from Algerian Arabic الدزَاير (al-dzayir), from Arabic اَلْجَزَائِر (al-jazāʔir, “the islands”) (with elision of the first vowel), plural of جَزِيرَة (jazīra, “island”), referring to the several small islands that once existed in the Bay of Algiers. Doublet of Algiers and Algeciras.

اَلْجَزَائِر

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria#English

A country in North Africa. Official name: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. Capital and largest city: Algiers.

(historical) Ottoman Algeria, also the regency of Algiers or al-Jazā’ir in Arabic, from 1515 to 1830

(historical) French or Colonial Algeria, from 1830 to 1962

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, since 1962


Gabon

From Portuguese gabão (“cloak”), referring to the Komo estuary.

Gabonese Republic
Gabonese Republic#English

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Gabonese Republic. Capital: Libreville.


Ghana

Named after the Ghana Empire by J. B. Danquah, from Soninke gajanŋa.

Republic of Ghana
Republic of Ghana#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Ghana.


Comoros

Likely borrowed via French Comores. Ultimately from Arabic جَزِيرَة القَمَر (jazīrat al-qamar, “island of the moon”); for more see the etymology of Madagascar.

جَزِيرَة القَمَر

Comoros, CIA World Fact Book 2004 on Wikisource

Union of the Comoros
Union of the Comoros#English

A country and group of islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. Official name: Union of the Comoros.


Kenya

From Kikuyu kĩrĩma (“mountain”) and Kikuyu nyaga (“ostrich”), from the name of Mount Kenya. See Kirinyaga County.

The object of the builders was to push on to Uganda as quickly as possible; one result was that Kenya was "discovered" on the way.

1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 262:

Republic of Kenya
Republic of Kenya#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Kenya.

Dził Dah Gai Biyaagi Naakaii Łizhiní Bikéyah


Botswana

From Tswana Botswana, from bo- + Tswana,
of uncertain origin.

A country in Southern Africa. Capital: Gaborone.

Bechuanaland, fully the Bechuanaland Protectorate, a colony of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1966


Cameroon

From Portuguese Rio dos Camarões (“river of prawns”), in reference to the Wouri river.

Republic of Cameroon
w:Republic of Cameroon

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Cameroon. Capital: Yaoundé. It also claims Ambazonia.


Djibouti

Unknown; the country of Djibouti was named after its capital city. Multiple theories exist as to the origin of the lemma, including derivation from Afar gabouti (“plate”) or gabood (“plateau”).

Holonym: Horn of Africa

Republic of Djibouti
Republic of Djibouti#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Djibouti.


Mauritania

/ˌmɔːɹɪˈteɪni.ə/

From Latin Maurītānia, from Maurus (“Moor”). Doublet of Mauretania.

Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Islamic Republic of Mauritania#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Capital: Nouakchott.


Malawi

Said to be from Chichewa malawi (“flames”), after the appearance of the sunrise over Lake Malawi; also possibly from Maravi, the name of an early Malawi tribe, or from an old name for a lake. Chosen by Hastings Banda in 1964.

Republic of Malawi
Republic of Malawi#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Malawi.


Namibia

Republic of Namibia
Republic of Namibia#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Namibia. Capital: Windhoek.

Séí Dah Daaskʼidtah Naakaii Łizhiní Bikéyah


Nigeria

→ Japanese: ナイジェリア (Naijeria)

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪə̯ɹiə/

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪɹiə/

/naɪˈd͡ʒiːɹiə/

From Niger + -ia, coined by British journalist Flora Shaw in 1897.

coin

Federal Republic of Nigeria
Federal Republic of Nigeria#English

A country in West Africa, south of the country of Niger. Official name: Federal Republic of Nigeria. Capital: Abuja. Largest city: Lagos.


Swaziland

→ Japanese: スワジランド (Suwajirando)

(historical) The former name of Eswatini, a country in Southern Africa.

Swaziland

Kingdom of Swaziland — see also Eswatini

Swazilands

attributive form - relating to Swaziland


Angola

→ Gujarati: અંગોલા (aṅgolā)

→ Welsh: Angola

From Portuguese (Reino de) Angola (“(kingdom of) Angola”), from Kimbundu ngola, title held by native kings at the time of the Portuguese colonization in the 15th century AD. Compare Kituba ngolo (“strength”).
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is named "Angola" after the Angola slave plantation it replaced, which was named after the country, from which many enslaved people in Louisiana had been taken.

bor

Republic of Angola
Republic of Angola#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Angola. Capital and largest city: Luanda.

(historical) A former colony of Portugal, Portuguese Angola, also known as Portuguese West Africa and officially the State of West Africa, from 1575 to 1975.

The People's Republic of Angola, from 1975 to 1992


Mauritius

→ Japanese: モーリシャス (Mōrishasu)

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Mauritius

From a Latinized form of the name of Maurits van Nassau.

Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mauritius#English

A country in the Indian Ocean, east of East Africa and Madagascar. Official name: Republic of Mauritius.


Liberia

From Latin līber (“free”) + -ia (“place”).

Republic of Liberia
Republic of Liberia#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Liberia.


Zambia

Republic of Zambia
Republic of Zambia#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Zambia. Formerly called Northern Rhodesia.


Tanzania

Blend of Tanganyika + Zanzibar + -ia, combining the names of the former countries that merged to form Tanzania in 1964.

United Republic of Tanzania
United Republic of Tanzania#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: United Republic of Tanzania.

Beʼekʼid Honeezítsoh Bibąąhgi Naakaii Łizhiní Bikéyah


Ethiopia

→ Gujarati: ઇથિયોપિયા (ithiyopiyā)

→ Hindi: इथियोपिया (ithiyopiyā)

→ Korean: 에티오피아 (etiopia)

→ Navajo: Iithiyópya

→ Yoruba: Ìtíópíà

/ˌiː.θiˈəʊ.pɪ.ə/

From Latin Aethiopia, from Ancient Greek Αἰθιοπία (Aithiopía), from Αἰθίοψ (Aithíops), of Proto-Hellenic origin. Displaced native Old English Siġelhearwena land (literally “land of the sun worshippers”).

ncog

Aethiopia (Classical Greek term)
Ethiopia

ເອທິໂອປີ

ʼē thi ʼō pī

The Ethiopian Empire, from c. 1270 to 1974; Abyssinia.

A country in East Africa.
Italian Ethiopia, from 1936 to 1941.

Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia, from 1974 to 1987; Derg.

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia#English

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, since 1987.

Wheat has been and continues to be one of the most important cereal crops in Ethiopia in terms of both area under cultivation and production.

1991, Tesfaye Tesemma, “Improvement of indigenous durum wheat landraces in Ethiopia” in Plant Genetic Resources of Ethiopia, 288


Gambia

Gambia (canonical)
the Gambia (canonical)

→ Japanese: ガンビア (Ganbia)

Republic of The Gambia
Republic of The Gambia#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of The Gambia.


Egypt

→ Burmese: အီဂျစ် (igyac)

→ Chinese: 埃及 (Āijí)

→ Korean: 애굽 (Aegup)

→ Vietnamese: Ai Cập

→ Cornish: Ejyp

→ Gujarati: ઇજિપ્ત (ijipt)

→ Hindi: इजिप्ट (ijipṭ), इजिप्त (ijipt)

→ Iban: Ejip

→ Japanese: エジプト (Ejiputo)

→ Kannada: ಈಜಿಪ್ಟ್ (ījipṭ)

→ Korean: 이집트 (Ijipteu)

→ Malayalam: ഈജിപ്റ്റ് (ījipṟṟ)

→ Maori: Īhipa

→ Marathi: इजिप्त (ijipta)

→ Navajo: Ííjip

→ Nepali: इजिप्ट (ijipṭa)

→ Odia: ଇଜିପ୍ଟ (ijipṭa)

→ Paiwan: Idjiputu

→ Thai: อียิปต์ (ii-yìp)

From Middle English Egipt, from Middle French Egypte, from Latin Aegyptus, from Ancient Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aíguptos) (see also the Mycenaean Greek ethnonym 𐁁𐀓𐀠𐀴𐀍 (ai-ku-pi-ti-jo, “Egyptian”)), from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ (“Egypt; Memphis; the temple of Ptah in Memphis”, literally “The temple of the ka of Ptah”), whose Late Egyptian pronunciation is reflected by Akkadian 𒄭𒆪𒌒𒋫𒀪 (ḫikuptaḫ).

der

Arab Republic of Egypt
Arab Republic of Egypt#English

A country in North Africa and Western Asia. Official name: Arab Republic of Egypt. Capital: Cairo.


Mozambique

Borrowed from Portuguese Moçambique, from the name of sultan Mussa Bin Bique.

Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Mozambique#English

A country in East Africa and Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Mozambique (since 1990). Capital: Maputo.

People's Republic of Mozambique
People's Republic of Mozambique

(historical, from 1975) The former communist country of the People's Republic of Mozambique.

(historical, from the 16th century) A former colony of Portugal.


Madagascar

/mædəˈɡæskɑɹ/

Borrowed from Middle French Madagascar, from Madageiscar, popularly reputed as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu by Marco Polo's misreading of Arabic. The maps of particular interest are that of al-Idrisi in the 12th century, who produced the Tabula Rogeriana, the most advanced world map at the time.
The actual misconstrued term was Arabic جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ (jazīrat al-mālāʔiyy, “The Island of Mālāī”) listed alongside Arabic جَزِيرَة القَمَر (jazīrat al-qamar, “The Island of the Moon”) which lent its name to Comoros; Madagascar however likely being the original based on its dimensions.
The map in question warps the direction of Africa's east coast to be parallel to the coast of southeast Asia, prompting a conflation of the regions furthest east and furthest south, in the reaches of Arab exploration. This perhaps makes the Island of Mālāī both representing Madagascar and an island in Indonesia, likely Sumatra, in close proximity to Malaysia. To conflate matters further, the populations of both regions are of Austronesian background, a fact pointed out by Arab explorers who identified Madagascar as colony of the former region. A second wave of Austronesians, including Malays, did indeed migrate to the island after the first group had originally left from what was likely Southern Borneo from linguistic and genetic analysis.
"Mālāī-Gezīra" also holds connection to the term for the people and languages of the island, Malagasy, which had earlier forms Malegass and Madegass, because of dialect division.

جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ

noncog

جَزِيرَة القَمَر

Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Madagascar#English

An island and country off the east coast of Africa. Official name: Republic of Madagascar. Capital: Antananarivo.


Rwanda

From Rwanda-Rundi u Rwanda from the archaic verb -anda (“to expand”). Compare Zulu anda (“to multiply”).


Zimbabwe

From Shona dzimba-dze-mabwe (“houses of stones”) (see imba (“house”), ibwe (“stone”)), in reference to Great Zimbabwe.

der

Republic of Zimbabwe
Republic of Zimbabwe#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Zimbabwe. Formerly called Southern Rhodesia or Rhodesia.


Mali

Inherits its name from the Mali Empire, in turn from Mandinka or Dyula mali (“hippopotamus”).

Republic of Mali
Republic of Mali#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Mali.


Niger

→ Japanese: ナイジャ (Naija)

/niːˈʒɛə(ɹ)/

Commonly linked by folk etymology to Latin niger (“black”), which likely influenced the modern spelling.
Some sources give the term to Tuareg roots, deriving it from a claimed gher n-gheren or egereou n-igereouen (“river of rivers”). Compare Tarifit iɣzar-n-iɣezran.
Older sources derive Niger, via a series of mistranslations and geographic misplacements by Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, from Ptolemy's descriptions of the wadi Gir (in modern Algeria) and the "Lower Gir" (or "Ni-Gir") to the south.

Republic of the Niger
Republic of the Niger#English

A country in West Africa, situated to the north of Nigeria. Official name: Republic of the Niger.

From here we can see the River Niger in the distance running across town, a long gleaming diamond in the horizon.

2023, Stephen Buoro, The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, Bloomsbury Circus, page 290:

A major river in West Africa that flows into the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria.

A state of Nigeria in the North Central geopolitical zone. Capital and largest city: Minna.


Sudan

en-proper noun

Sudan or the Sudan (countable and uncountable, plural Sudans)

Sudan (canonical)
the Sudan (canonical)
Sudans (plural)

From Arabic سُودَان (sūdān, “black people”), plural of أَسْوَد (ʔaswad).

A country in North Africa and East Africa.

Turkish Sudan; autonym Turkiyyah; Sudan under the Eyalet of Egypt, from 1820 to 1885

Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, from 1885 to 1898

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt from 1899 to 1955

Republic of the Sudan
Republic of the Sudan

Often used with the definite article "the".


São Tomé and Príncipe

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-São Tomé and Príncipe.wav

From Portuguese São Tomé (literally “Saint Thomas”) and Portuguese Príncipe (literally “Prince”), the two major islands which form the nation.

der

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe#English

A country and archipelago in Central Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean. Official name: Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Capital: São Tomé.

São Tomé en Principe

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe


Uganda

→ Japanese: ウガンダ (Uganda)

→ Welsh: Wganda

From Swahili Uganda (“Buganda, subnational kingdom”), from Luganda Buganda (“land of the Ganda”), possibly from Proto-Bantu *-ganda (“family”).

Republic of Uganda
Republic of Uganda#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Uganda.


Togo

From Togoville, from Ewe to (“to pound”) + go (“shore”).

It was on the plane to Togo, six months earlier, back when Togo was still on the shortlist, before Aimee had offended that tiny nation by suggesting, in an interview, that its government did ‘nothing for their people’.

2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 194:

Togolese Republic
Togolese Republic#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Togolese Republic.


Senegal

/ˌsɛn.ɪˈɡɔːl/

/ˌsɛn.ɪˈɡɑːl/

Probably from a Portuguese transliteration of the name of the Zenaga (possibly from Arabic زنجي (“Zanj, Negro”), from Persian زَنگ (“Land of the Blacks”) Etymology 3}. Or a combination of the supreme deity in Serer religion (Rog Sene) and o gal meaning body of water in the Serer language.

Republic of Senegal
Republic of Senegal#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Senegal.


Ivory Coast

Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire#English

A country in West Africa. Official names: Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and Côte d'Ivoire.


Zaïre

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Alternative spelling of Zaire: (historical) A former country (1971–1997) in Central Africa; now the Democratic Republic of the Congo


Seychelles

→ Japanese: セイシェル (Seisheru)

After French official and politician Jean Moreau de Séchelles.

Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Seychelles#English

An archipelago and country in East Africa, in the Indian Ocean. Official name: Republic of Seychelles.


Western Sahara

A territory and former Spanish colony in North Africa, now mostly occupied by Morocco, which claims ownership over the territory.

ܣܲܚܵܪܵܐ ܡܲܥܪܒ݂ܵܝܬ݂ܵܐ

saḥḥārā maˁrḇāyṯā


Central African Republic

the Central African Republic (canonical)

/ˈsɛntɹəl ˈæfɹɪkən ɹɪˈpʌblɪk/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Central African Republic.wav

quṭnāyūṯā āprīqāyṯā qinṭrōnāyṯā

ܩܘܼܛܢܵܝܘܼܬ݂ܵܐ ܐܵܦܪܝܼܩܵܝܬ݂ܵܐ ܩܸܢܛܪܘܿܢܵܝܬ݂ܵܐ

הַרֶפּוּבְּלִיקָה הַמֶרְכָּז־אַפְרִיקָנִית

中央アフリカ共和国

ちゅうおうアフリカきょうわこく


Sierra Leone

Spanish sierra (“mountain”) + leona (“lioness”), from Portuguese Serra Leoa, in the reference to the Lion Mountains (named by Pedro de Sintra in 1462).

Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of Sierra Leone#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Sierra Leone.

Lion Mountains
Pedro de Sintra
Sierra Leone

Náshdóítsoh Bitsiijįʼ Daditłʼooʼígíí Dziil


Guinea-Bissau

→ Japanese: ギニアビサウ (Ginia-Bisau)

Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Guinea-Bissau#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Guinea-Bissau.


Somalia

→ Japanese: ソマリア (Somaria)

Federal Republic of Somalia
Federal Republic of Somalia#English

A country in East Africa, in the Horn of Africa. Official name: Federal Republic of Somalia. Capital: Mogadishu.


Lesotho

From Sotho Lesotho (“Land of the Basotho (Sotho people)”).

bor

Land of the <i class="Latn mention" lang="st">Basotho</i> (Sotho people)

Kingdom of Lesotho
Kingdom of Lesotho#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Kingdom of Lesotho. Capital: Maseru.


Burkina Faso

From Moore burkĩna (“honest”) + Dyula faso (“father's house”), coined by Thomas Sankara.

A country in West Africa, formerly Upper Volta. Official name: Burkina Faso.


Benin

→ Japanese: ベニン (Benin)

From Portuguese Benim, from Itsekiri Ubinu, from Yoruba ile ibinu (“house of vexation”).

A country in West Africa, formerly Dahomey.

People's Republic of Benin, from 1975 to 1990


Chad

→ Welsh: Tsiad

Believed to be from Kanuri tsade (“lake”). The country is named after the lake.

Republic of Chad
Republic of Chad#English

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Chad.


Algerian

/ælˈd͡ʒɪɹi.ən/

It was a view that would not necessarily be shared by Algerians subjected to the gégène or having had their bellies pumped full of water during the Battle of Algiers.

1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 197:

A person from Algeria or of Algerian descent.


Guinea

→ Japanese: ギニア (Ginia)

Borrowed from Portuguese Guiné, which is of uncertain origin.

(historical) The coastal region of West Africa between Morocco and the Congo, particularly the north shore of the Gulf of Guinea.

Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Guinea.


Eritrea

/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹ(e)ɪə/

/ˌɪɹɪˈtɹ(e)ɪə/

/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹi.ə/

/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹeɪə/

/ˌɪɹɪˈtɹeɪə/

Borrowed from Italian (l')Eritrea, first used in Italian as an ellipsis of la Colonia eritrea (“Italian Eritrea”, literally “the Erythraean colony”), from eritrea, feminine of eritreo (“Erythraean (of or relating to the Erythraean Sea)”), from Latin erythraeus (“reddish”), from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós, “red”).

A country in East Africa, on the Red Sea. Capital: Asmara.

The modern State of Eritrea (since the 1990s).

(historical) A former province of or in union with Ethiopia.

(historical, from 1890) A former colony of Italy.


Congo

Congo (canonical)
the Congo (canonical)
Congos (plural)

After Kongo, from Kongo nkongo (“hunter”). Compare Kongo dikongo (“spear”), Zulu umkhonto, Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀kóndó.

Democratic Republic of the Congo#English

Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (a country in Central Africa, larger and to the east of the Republic of the Congo; official name: Democratic Republic of the Congo; capital: Kinshasa).

quṭnāyūṯā dēmōqrāṭāyṯā d-kōngō

ܩܘܼܛܢܵܝܘܼܬ݂ܵܐ ܕܹܝܡܘܿܩܪܵܛܵܝܬ݂ܵܐ ܕܟܘܿܢܓܘܿ

Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo#English

Congo, Republic of the Congo (a country in Central Africa, smaller and to the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; official name: Republic of the Congo; capital: Brazzaville).

A region of Central Africa, comprising the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.

A large river in Africa which flows for about 4,380 km (2,720 miles) to the Atlantic Ocean in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


pommy

From pom + -y (“diminutive suffix”). Australian from 1912.

Though Sir Oswald had taken on enough London veneer to be sneered at as a pommy in certain Australian circles, he had never acquired the high-class Englishman′s apparent equanimity or indifference before the prospect of cuckolding.

1931, Miles Franklin, Back to Bool Bool, page 140:

Rhona nodded her agreement. ‘That′s a very interesting answer from a new Aussie – and a Pommy into the bargain,’ she added.

2007, Tony Parsons, Silver in the Sun, unnumbered page:

During one of these acts of bravery by the English pilots I saw a great big tough Aussie with tears of frustration streaming down his face. He was shouting, ‘You magnificent, stupid Pommy bastard!’

2009, Robert Holman, On Paths of Ash: The Extraordinary Story of an Australian Prisoner of War, unnumbered page:

(Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, often derogatory) A pom; a person of British descent, a Briton; an Englishman.


talent

From Middle English talent, from Old English talente, borrowed from the plural of Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”). Compare Old High German talenta (“talent”). Later figurative senses are from Old French talent (“talent, will, inclination, desire”), derived from the biblical Parable of the Talents.

der

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew XXV:14-15:

(historical) A unit of weight and money used in ancient times in Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East, equal to about 30 to 60 kg in various times and places.


dodo

Uncertain. Perhaps from obsolete Portuguese doudo (“fool, simpleton, silly, stupid”) or Dutch dodaars. First attested in the 17th century.

bor

In spite of the most active search, during the last century, no information respecting the dodo was obtained, and some authors have gone so far as to pretend that it never existed; […]

1835, Charles Lyell, chapter XLI, in Principles of Geology […] , 4th edition, volume III, London: John Murray, Book III, pages 133–134:

Within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an animal which has perished from the face of the earth.

1839, Charles Darwin, chapter IX, in The Voyage of the Beagle:

Wildlife biologist Stanley Temple hypothesised that perhaps the dodo tree was dependent on its seeds passing through the digestive system of dodos in order to properly germinate and that the handful of individuals in the 1970s were the last remaining trees from seeds that passed through a dodo in the 1690s-1700s when they went extinct.

2017 May 3, Mark Carnall, “Finding zombies, ghosts and Elvis in the fossil record”, in The Guardian:

Raphus cucullatus
Raphus cucullatus#Translingual

A large, flightless bird, †Raphus cucullatus, related to the pigeon, that is now extinct (since the 1600s) and was native to Mauritius.


pula

From Tswana pula, Northern Sotho pula, and Sotho pula (“rain”), all from Proto-Bantu *mbúdà.

The currency of Botswana, divided into 100 thebe.


Africa

en-proper noun

Africa (countable and uncountable, plural Africas)

→ Swahili: Afrika

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”), 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”).

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:

Sub-Saharan Africa
sub-Saharan Africa#English

(nonstandard, proscribed) Sub-Saharan Africa, contrasted with the Maghreb.

(historical) A province of the Roman Empire containing what is now modern Tunisia and portions of Libya.

Africa

historical: province of the Roman Empire


Angolan

A person from Angola or of Angolan descent.


Mediterranean

/ˌmɛdɪtəˈɹeɪnɪən/

/ˌmɛdɪtəˈɹeɪnɪən/

[mɛɾəɾəˈɹeɪnɪən]

Borrowed from Latin mediterrāneus, from medius (“middle”) + terra (“earth, land”) + -āneus (adjectival suffix).

A region of Southern Europe and North Africa and Western Asia. The region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.


rupee

Coined by Sher Shah Suri, the Sultan of the Suri Empire 1540–1545 as Hindustani रुपीया / رُوپِییَہ (rūpīya), variant of रुपया / رُوپَیَہ (rūpaya, “rupee”), from Sanskrit रूप्यक (rūpyaka, “silver coin”), from रूप्य (rūpya, “wrought gold or silver; stamped coin; beautiful, well-shaped; impressed, stamped”). Doublet of rufiyaa and rupiah.

der

In fact, the visible appearance of the iron is a symbol; it is not what it ultimately is. To take an analogy we are given a ten-rupee note. He knows it truly who at sight recognizes the piece of paper as a symbol of unity that represents ten separate silver coins.

1937, Rabindranath Tagore, “Lecture II: Supreme Man”, in Man: Lectures Delivered at the Andhra University under the Terms of the Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Endowment (Andhra University Series; no. 16), Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh: Kitabistan, published 1946, →OCLC, pages 37–38:

In the fifth and sixth [standard] I obtained scholarships of rupees four and ten respectively, an achievement for which I have to thank good luck more than my merit.

1948, Mohandas K[aramchand] Gandhi, “At the High School”, in Mahadev Desai, transl., Gandhi’s Autobiography, or, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, →OCLC; reprinted as An Autobiography; or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, New York, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 2007, →ISBN, page 12:

There are no precise estimates available about the capital requirements of agricultural and rural development in India. But the amount required is in hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees.

1999, Katar Singh, “Financing Rural Development”, in Rural Development: Principles, Policies and Management, 2nd edition, New Delhi: SAGE Publications, published 2005, →ISBN, page 290:

The Seychelles rupee was allowed to depreciate in 2006 after being overvalued for years and fell by 10% in the first 9 months of 2007. Despite these actions, the Seychelles economy has struggled to maintain its gains and in 2008 suffered from food and oil price shocks, a foreign exchange shortage, high inflation, large financing gaps, and the global recession.

2013, “Strategic and Development Profiles”, in Seychelles Business Law Handbook, volumes 1 (Strategic Information and Basic Laws), Washington, D.C.: International Business Publications, →ISBN, page 15:

The common name for the monetary currencies used in modern India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, the Seychelles, or Sri Lanka.

paisa (1

modern Indian, Nepali, & Pakistani currencies


Amharic

Fifi smiles and nods, then says “yes” in Amharic with that typical Ethiopian inflection that makes it sound less like a word and more like a sharp intake of air.

2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, Canongate Books, published 2020, pages 218–219:


Lagos

From Portuguese Lagos (literally “lakes”).

A state of Nigeria in the South West geopolitical zone. Capital: Ikeja. Largest city: Lagos City.


Lemuria

Lemuria (festival)
en:Lemuria (disambiguation)

(historical) A religious feast of Ancient Rome during which rites were performed to exorcise the malevolent ghosts of the dead from their homes.


province

Tok Pisin: provins

From Middle English provynce, from Anglo-Norman province, Old French province, from Latin prōvincia, seemingly corresponding to prō- and vinciō. Replaced Old English boldġetæl.

He reminded his audience of events in 88BC, when the same Mithridates invaded the Roman province of Asia, on the western coast of Turkey.

2008 November 28, Mark Brown, The Guardian:

(historical, Ancient Rome, Roman Empire) An area outside Italy which is administered by a Roman governor or prefect.


Botswanan

A person from Botswana or of Botswanan descent.


Botswanan

en-adj

Botswanan (comparative more Botswanan, superlative most Botswanan)

more Botswanan (comparative)
most Botswanan (superlative)

Of, from, or pertaining to Botswana, the Botswanan people or the Botswanan language.


Mauritanian

A person from Mauritania or of Mauritanian descent.


Mauritanian

Mauritanian (comparative more Mauritanian, superlative most Mauritanian)

more Mauritanian (comparative)
most Mauritanian (superlative)

Of, from, or pertaining to Mauritania, the Mauritanian people or the Mauritanian language.


Liberian

A person from Liberia or of Liberian descent.


Beninese

Beninese (comparative more Beninese, superlative most Beninese)

more Beninese (comparative)
most Beninese (superlative)

Of, from, or pertaining to Benin, the Beninese people.


Beninese

“They wanted to know what part of Africa my parents hailed from,” Caesar said. “How was I to know? He said I had the nose of a Beninese.”

2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), pages 147–148:

(chiefly in the plural) A person from Benin or of Beninese descent.


Gambian

A person from Gambia or of Gambian descent.


Nigerien

/naɪˌdʒɪɹiˈɛn/

/niːˈʒɛəɹɪən/

From French nigérien, from Niger + -ien.

A person from Niger or of Nigerien descent.


Kenyan

A person from Kenya or of Kenyan descent.


Nigerian

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪəɹɪən/

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪɹiən/

For the same reasons that many Nigerians troop to churches in recent times, many also seek spiritual intervention through African traditional religions.

2010, Harry N. Agina, The Invasion of the Funky Pastors: Church Business at War with African Culture, Author House, →ISBN, page 119:

'No meat!' The Nigerian, who grew up knowing that ponmo or cowskin was popular on the menu list back home, heard the Chadians carry on, and pretending there was nothing scary about the promotion of ponmo as a national delicacy, replied suavely, 'Meat certainly is not all a man lives for, or is it, gentlemen?'

2012, Steve Carlos, Behind the Firing Line:

A person from Nigeria or of Nigerian descent.


Nigerian

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪəɹɪən/

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪɹiən/

There was some languidness latent in the Nigerian atmosphere that made her forget the meaning of time passing.

2005, Helen Oyeyemi, The Icarus Girl, Bloomsbury, page 70:

Of, from, or pertaining to Nigeria, the Nigerian people or culture.

Nigeries

of, from, or pertaining to Nigeria, the Nigerian people or culture


Senegalese

Foreigner who marries a Senegalese is granted permanent residency and can apply for citizenship by naturalization.

2001, Citizenship Laws of the World, Amer Immigration Lawyers Assn, page 173:

In times of need, it is the mother's brother whom a Senegalese is most likely to approach for aid. The matrilineage is dominated by the tokor ("tuh-CORE"), the oldest man. The tokor holds all the family money.

2010, Elizabeth Berg, Ruth Wan, Ruth Lau, Senegal, Marshall Cavendish, →ISBN, page 74:

Senghor writes that these texts were collected “by the Abbé Boilat, a Senegalese” in his Grammar of the Wolof Language. Identifying Boilat as “a Senegalese” conflicts with the more ambiguous ways that Boilat actually presents himself[…]

2019 March 5, Tobias Warner, The Tongue-Tied Imagination: Decolonizing Literary Modernity in Senegal, Fordham Univ Press, →ISBN, page 46:

(chiefly in the plural) A person from Senegal or of Senegalese descent.


Cameroonian

Of, from, or pertaining to Cameroon, the Cameroonian people or the Cameroonian language.


Cameroonian

A person from Cameroon or of Cameroonian descent.


Burundian

A person from Burundi or of Burundian descent.


Burundian

Burundian (comparative more Burundian, superlative most Burundian)

more Burundian (comparative)
most Burundian (superlative)

Of or pertaining to Burundi or its people.


Sahrawi

From Arabic صَحْرَاوِيّ (ṣaḥrāwiyy, “of the desert”), from صَحْرَاء (ṣaḥrāʔ, “desert”).

bor

Of, from, or pertaining to Western Sahara, the Sahrawi people or their language Hassaniya Arabic.


Sahrawi

A person from Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara).


Sudanese

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Sudanese.wav

But few Sudanese can forget the group’s participation in a massacre of over 120 democracy protesters in 2019.

2023 May 5, Declan Walsh, “‘Only Word for Them Is Heroes’: How 2 Students Rescued Dozens in Sudan”, in The New York Times:

A person from Sudan or of Sudanese descent.


Libyan

From Libya + -an. English since the 16th century.

More than 40,000 would-be migrants to Europe have been intercepted at sea since Italy began paying and equipping the Libyan coastguard to do so in 2017.

2020 February 13, Roland Oliphant, “'I have lost four years of my life': the desperate migrants stuck in squalid Libyan camps”, in The Telegraph:

Libies

Of, from, or pertaining to Libya, the Libyan people or the Libyan language


Libyan

No one in Faya forgets that French air force raids drove the Libyans out of Faya, prompting them to abandon their tanks with less than Gaddafian revolutionary zeal and hightail it back home on foot.

2005, Jeffrey Tayler, Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat, and Camel:

A person from Libya or of Libyan descent.


Ugandan

A person from Uganda or of Ugandan descent.


Ugandan

Of, from, or pertaining to Uganda, the Ugandan people or the Ugandan language.


Malian

A person from Mali or of Malian descent.


Djiboutian

A person from Djibouti or of Djiboutian descent.


Djiboutian

Of, from, or pertaining to Djibouti or its people or culture.


Namibian

en-adj

Namibian (comparative more Namibian, superlative most Namibian)

more Namibian (comparative)
most Namibian (superlative)

Of, from, or pertaining to Namibia, the Namibian people or the Namibian language.


Namibian

A person from Namibia or of Namibian descent.

Namibiër

a person from Namibia or of Namibian descent


Ethiopian

Ahmed was also appreciated for his talents as a showman, because he had no equal in letting loose the famous eskista, with the heaving quiver of the torso and shoulders, of which Ethiopians are so fond. Eskista is the dance of the Amharas, enhancing amorous repartee and expressing collective jubilation.

2002 August 1, Frank Tenaille, Music is the Weapon of the Future: Fifty Years of African Popular Music, →ISBN, page 168:

A person from Ethiopia or of Ethiopian descent.

The Ethiopian eunuch.

(dated) A black-skinned person, especially one from Africa.

(slang, derogatory) A very skinny person, referencing the historic malnutrition and poverty in Ethiopia.


Ethiopian

Ethiopian (comparative more Ethiopian, superlative most Ethiopian)

more Ethiopian (comparative)
most Ethiopian (superlative)

One of Ethiopia's most popular traditional dances, eskista, which is said to have originated from the lower highlands of Ethiopia's Amhara region, exemplifies the type of multi-functionality that Martin (1967) acknowledges as it is performed in many different settings of the Ethiopian community.

2018 February 20, Adesola Akinleye, Narratives in Black British Dance: Embodied Practices, →ISBN, page 195:

Of, from, or pertaining to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian people or the Ethiopian culture.

Any person of color recognized his Ethiopian heritage immediately. That nose, those lips, good hair or no.

2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), page 314:

(dated, not comparable) Of, from, or pertaining to Africa and the African diaspora.


Mozambican

From New Latin Mozambica + -an (suffix forming adjectives).

affix

A native or inhabitant of Mozambique, or a descendant of such person.

Mosambieker

person from Mozambique or of Mozambican descent


Zambian

A person from Zambia or of Zambian descent.


Zambian

Of or pertaining to Zambia or its people or language.


Equatorial Guinean

en-noun

Equatorial Guinean (plural Equatorial Guineans)

A person from Equatorial Guinea or of Equatorial Guinean descent.


Equatorial Guinean

Of, from, or pertaining to Equatorial Guinea, the Equatorial Guinean people or the Equatorial Guinean culture.


Tunisian

WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.

2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:

A person from Tunisia or of Tunisian descent.


Tunisian

On a recent afternoon in the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, as shoppers hurried around a market buying food and drink for that evening’s iftar meal, a small group of men from sub-Saharan Africa gathered near a stall selling phone accessories.

2023 March 30, Simon Speakman Cordall, “Tunisian morgue overflows as more people attempt risky sea crossing”, in The Guardian:

Of, from, or pertaining to Tunisia, the Tunisian people or the Tunisian language.


Somalian

en-adj

Somalian (comparative more Somalian, superlative most Somalian)

more Somalian (comparative)
most Somalian (superlative)

2007 April 22, “Somalian government tells Mogadishu residents to flee”, in The New York Times:

(nonstandard, sometimes offensive) Synonym of Somali


Eritrean

From Eritrea + -an (suffix forming adjectives).

affix

A native or inhabitant of Eritrea, or a descendant of such person.

Eritreër

A person from Eritrea or of Eritrean descent


Egyptologist

/ˌid͡ʒɪpˈtɑləd͡ʒɪst/

An Egyptologist's mind immediately turns to the ancient Egyptian counterpart to such an imagined protosactuary: a reed hut that all late Egyptian temples, in their archaizing longing to return to the origins, sought to emulate in stone through the typically Egyptian temple features of inward-sloping walls, torus and corvetto cornice.

2018, Jan Assmann, The Invention of Religion:

A person; one who is skilled in or professes or practices Egyptology.

misirşünas

A person; one who is skilled professes or practices Egyptology


Cape Verdean

I hear [...] the surf on the Cape Verdean beaches is incredible.

2015, Paul Beatty, The Sellout, Oneworld Publications (2016), page 219:

He was a Cape Verdean boy who identified as Portuguese to differentiate himself from African Americans, despite being nearly the same shade as Davis.

2022 April 12, Jazmine Hughes, “Viola Davis, Inside Out”, in The New York Times Magazine:

Of, from, or pertaining to Cape Verde, the Cape Verdean people or the Cape Verdean language.

Kaap Verdies

of, from, or pertaining to Cape Verde, its people or their language


Cape Verdean

Cape Verdeans waiting with perfect, timeless patience for a boat that may or may not come.

2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 295:

For Helio Batalha, a 27-year-old hip-hop artist who performed at the music expo, that blending of cultures and history has led to a form of identity crisis for young Cape Verdeans.

2016 May 4, Saskia de Rothschild, “An Atlantic Archipelago’s Main Export: Music”, in The New York Times:

A person from Cape Verde or of Cape Verdean descent.

Kaap Verdiër

a person from Cape Verde or of Cape Verdean descent


Ghanaian

/ɡɑːˈneɪ.ən/

The locals did this, waiting for tourists to disembark so that they could con them into paying for things Ghanaians knew were free.

2016, Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing, Penguin Books (2017), page 264:

A person from Ghana or of Ghanaian descent.


South African

Thus far, virtually every cinematic attempt to convey the outrages of South African life under apartheid has been diminished by its own good intentions and by a grim sameness that eradicates any element of surprise.

1989 September 20, Janet Maslin, “Review/Film; Sutherland Catches On To Apartheid Slowly”, in The New York Times:

Of, from, or pertaining to South Africa, or the South African people.


Malagasy

en-noun

Malagasy (countable and uncountable, plural Malagasy or Malagasies)

/ˌmæləˈɡæsi/

From Malagasy malagasy, connected to "Mālāī-Jezīra", island of Malais. Compare English Madagascar, which by folk etymology comes from Marco Polo's misreading of Mogadishu whereas it should be Arabic جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ (jazīrat al-mālāʔiyy, “The Island of Mālāī”).

der

جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ

(countable) A person from Madagascar or of Malagasy descent.

(uncountable) The languages of Madagascar or of the Malagasy people, when considered to be one language.

Malgassies

the language of the Malagasy, when considered one language


Malagasy

/ˌmæləˈɡæsi/

جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ


Tanzanian

A person from Tanzania or of Tanzanian descent.

Tanzaniër

a person from Tanzania or of Tanzanian descent


Tanzanian

Of, from, or pertaining to Tanzania, the Tanzanian people or language.

Tanzanies

of, from, or pertaining to Tanzania and its people


Comorian

A person from Comoros or of Comorian descent.


Comorian

The language of the islands of the Comoros.


Comorian

Of, from, or pertaining to the Comoros, the Comorian people or the Comorian language.

جُزُر اَلْقَمَر (juzur al-qamar) ('iDaafa (إضافَة (ʔiḍāfa)) is used)


Rwandan

A person from Rwanda or of Rwandan descent.

Rwandees

a person from Rwanda or of Rwandan descent


Rwandan

en-adj

Rwandan (comparative more Rwandan, superlative most Rwandan)

more Rwandan (comparative)
most Rwandan (superlative)

Of, from, or pertaining to Rwanda, the Rwandan people or language.

Rwandees

of, from, or pertaining to Rwanda, the Rwandan people or language


Moroccan

The group is accused of defaming the state after a British nonprofit, Privacy International, wrote a report based on the testimony of four Moroccans who say they were targets of cybersurveillance by the government.

2015 November 10, Aida Alami, “Moroccan Government Cracks Down on Journalists and Activists”, in The New York Times:

A person from Morocco or of Moroccan descent.


Somali

en-noun

Somali (countable and uncountable, plural Somalis)

(uncountable) A Cushitic language spoken mainly in Somalia and eastern Ethiopia.

(countable) A person from Somalia or of Somali descent.

Somaliër

a person from Somalia or of Somali descent


Somali

Of, from, or pertaining to Somalia, the Somali people or language.


Atlas Mountains

Calque of Arabic جِبَال الأَطْلَس (jibāl al-ʔaṭlas), from Berber ⵉⴷⵓⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵡⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ (idurar n waṭlas), both ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), stemming from the belief that the mountain range is actually the body of the Titan Atlas after being turned to stone.

calque

جِبَال الأَطْلَس

A mountain range in northwestern Africa, occupying portions of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.


Egyptian

/ɪˈd͡ʒɪp.ʃən/

From Middle English Egipcien, egyptiane. Displaced Old English Egyptisċ. By surface analysis, Egypt + -ian.

The Afroasiatic language spoken (and written) in ancient Egypt


bes

(historical, numismatics) A bronze coin of the Roman Republic, worth two thirds of an as.


rand

Named after Witwatersrand; the last element is Afrikaans rand (“ridge”), from Dutch rand, from Old Saxon rand, from Germanic *randaz. Compare Etymology 1, and Rand.
The sense of currency is because of gold that was extracted from the Witwatersrand rocks.

The currency of South Africa, divided into 100 cents.


Alexandrian

en-adj

Alexandrian (comparative more Alexandrian, superlative most Alexandrian)

more Alexandrian (comparative)
most Alexandrian (superlative)

the Alexandrian library

Of or pertaining to Alexandria in Egypt.


Tswana

From Tswana Tswana, the stem of Motswana/Batswana/Setswana. See Botswana for more.

A Bantu people living in Botswana and South Africa.


shilling

From Middle English schilling, shilling, from Old English sċilling, from Proto-Germanic *skillingaz, equivalent to skill + -ing. Doublet of scalding and schilling.

look as if one had lost a shilling and found sixpence

The currency of Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda.


Middle East

desc

الشَّرْق الْأَوْسَط

→ Arabic: الشَّرْق الْأَوْسَط (aš-šarq al-ʔawsaṭ) (calque)

→ Azerbaijani: Orta Şərq (calque)

Сярэ́дні Усхо́д

→ Belarusian: Сярэ́дні Усхо́д (Sjarédni Usxód) (calque)

→ Catalan: Orient Mitjà (calque)

→ Czech: Střední východ (calque)

→ Dutch: Midden-Oosten (calque)

→ French: Moyen-Orient (calque)

→ German: Mittlerer Osten (calque)

Μέση Ανατολή

→ Greek: Μέση Ανατολή (Mési Anatolí) (calque)

→ Italian: Medio Oriente (calque)

→ Kazakh: Орта Шығыс (Orta Şyğys) (calque)

Среден Исток

→ Macedonian: Среден Исток (Sreden Istok) (calque)

→ Norwegian: Midtøsten (calque)

→ Persian: خاورمیانه (xâvar-e-miyâne) (calque)

→ Polish: Środkowy Wschód (calque)

→ Portuguese: Oriente Médio (calque)

→ Romanian: Orientul Mijlociu (calque)

Сре́дний Восто́к

→ Russian: Сре́дний Восто́к (Srédnij Vostók) (calque)

→ Spanish: Medio Oriente (calque)

→ Swedish: Mellanöstern (calque)

→ Turkish: Orta Doğu (calque)

→ Turkmen: Orta Gündogar (calque)

مَشْرِقِ وُسْطیٰ

→ Urdu: مَشْرِقِ وُسْطیٰ (maśriq-e vustā) (calque)

ئوتتۇرا شەرق

→ Uyghur: ئوتتۇرا شەرق (ottura sherq) (calque)

→ Uzbek: Oʻrta Sharq (calque)

Compound of middle + east formed in English, modeled on Far East and Near East. Attested from the latter 19th century.

Well, what may happen in the Middle East? I agree there are uncertainties, but when he was condemning the policy of the Government with regard to the Turkish peace, had he thought for a moment of the financial effect of the policy which he advocated?

1920 April 21, House of Commons, quoting Austen Chamberlain, “Budget proposals, Committee of Ways and Means”, in The Parliamentary Debates, volume 128, page 455:

(geopolitics, dated) The region between the Near East and the Far East.


springbok

en-noun

springbok (plural springbok or springboks)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-springbok.wav

Borrowed from Afrikaans springbok, from Dutch springbok, from springen (“to jump, spring”) + bok (“buck, billy goat, antelope”).

A small, fast antelope native to southern Africa, Antidorcas marsupialis.


kwacha

Borrowed from Chichewa kwacha (“it has dawned”).

Malawi's major currency unit, equivalent to 100 tambala.

‘We left more kwacha than heʼs ever seen in his whole life.’

2019, Namwali Serpell, The Old Drift, Hogarth, page 294:

Zambia's major currency unit, equivalent to 100 ngwee.


tambala

From Chichewa tambala (“rooster”), after the rooster that appeared on the original coins in this denomination.

Malawi's minor currency unit, a hundredth of a kwacha.


Mediterranean Sea

Calque of Late Latin Mare Mediterraneum.


dey

From French dey, from Ottoman Turkish دایی (modern Turkish dayı).

[…] the reigning Dey of Algiers (half of whose twenty-eight predecessors are said to have met violent ends) lost his temper with the French consul, struck him in the face with a fly-whisk, and called him ‘a wicked, faithless, idol-worshipping rascal’.

1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 29:

(historical) The ruler of the Regency of Algiers (now Algeria) under the Ottoman Empire.


leone

A unit of currency of Sierra Leone, divided into 100 cents.


Zaire

Truncation of Kongo nzadi o nzere (“river swallowing rivers”) which refers to the Congo river; adopted in accordance with the Authenticity Movement.

der

(historical) A former country (1971–1997) in Central Africa; now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


RSA

Republic of South Africa
Republic of South Africa#English

(South Africa) Initialism of Republic of South Africa.


demotic

First attested in 1822, from Ancient Greek δημοτικός (dēmotikós, “common”), from δημότης (dēmótēs, “commoner”), from δῆμος (dêmos, “the common people”).

bor

Of, relating to, or written in the ancient Egyptian script that developed from Lower Egyptian hieratic writing starting from around 650 BCE and was chiefly used to write the Demotic phase of the Egyptian language, with simplified and cursive characters that no longer corresponded directly to their hieroglyphic precursors.


Aberdeen

Aberdeen
Aberdeen (disambiguation)
Old Aberdeen

The first element is either Scottish Gaelic aber (“river mouth”) or Pictish aber (“confluence”), both from Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”). The second element is Don (“river in Scotland”) (the site of Old Aberdeen). Written Aberdon circa 1187 and Aberden circa 1214.
The area and town in Hong Kong is named after George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen.

named-after

A neighbourhood of Freetown, Sierra Leone.


mud

en-noun

mud (countable and uncountable, plural muds)

From Middle English mud, mudde, mode, probably a borrowing from Middle Dutch mod, modde or Middle Low German mudde, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *mud-, *mudra- (“mud”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mew- (“moist”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Mudde (“mud”), Middle High German mot (“mud”), Swedish modd (“slush”). Compare also suffixed variants West Frisian modder (“mud”), Dutch modder (“mud”), German Low German Mudder (“mud”), German Moder (“moldiness, mildew, decay”), English mother (“vinegar-forming sediment in alcohol”), Danish mudder (“mud”).
Alternative etymology suggests the Proto-Germanic word is possibly borrowed from a Uralic language (compare e.g. Finnish muta (“mud”), Northern Sami mođđi (“mud”), from Proto-Uralic *muďa).

cog

throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick


Saturnalia

Saturn was an ancient Italian deity. It was attempted to identify him with the Grecian god Cronos, and fabled that after his dethronement by Jupiter he fled to Italy, where he reigned during what was called the Golden Age. In memory of his beneficent dominion, the feast of Saturnalia was held every year in the winter season.

1913, Thomas Bulfinch, chapter 1, in The Age of Fable:

(historical) An Ancient Roman holiday honoring the deity Saturn.


Nile

Aman dawū

ⲁⲙⲁⲛ ⲇⲁⳣⲟ̅ⲩ̅, امان داوو

The seven mouths of the Nile then, from east to west, are the Pelusian, the Mendesian, the Bucolic, the Sebennytic, the Saïtic, the Bolbitine, and the Canopic. Such is the account of Heredotus.

1844, Pierre Henri Larcher, William Desborough Cooley, Larcher's notes on Herodotus:

A river you think so little about, you don’t even realize that’s not the Nile, this is the Nile.

2016 March 6, “Special Districts”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 4, via HBO:

A large river in Africa flowing through Khartoum and Cairo into the Mediterranean Sea, usually considered to be the longest river in the world.

Nile Township, Scioto County, Ohio, a township in Ohio, United States, named after the river.

Bucolic

Phatnitic, Phatnic, Phatmetic, Athribitic


Wolof

Jolof Empire
Jolof Kingdom
Wolof language
Wolof people
jollof rice

A West African people, mostly in Senegal.


mulai

Moly Moluch, King of Fez, who not long since obtained that famous victory against Sebastian, King of Portugall, a notable victorie by reason of the death of three Kings, and transmission of so great a Kingdome to the crowne of Castile, chanced to be grievously sicke at what time the Portugales with armed hand entred his dominions[…].

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 21, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

Mulay Hafiz appealed to France. France immediately responded by sending a sizable expeditionary force to occupy Morocco.

1973, Nikshoy C Chatterji, Muddle of the Middle East, volume II, page 228:

One very famous Sultan, Moulai Ismail of Meknes, in Morocco, had as many as 25,000 European slaves who participated in the building of his colossal stables.

1992, Ivan van Sertima, Golden Age of the Moor, Journal of African Civilizations Ltd., 2009, p.4


plebeian

From Latin plēbēius (“a commoner; common”) + -an (adjective-forming suffix), from Latin plēbēs + -ius (adjective-forming suffix), possibly under the influence of Middle French plebeyen, plebein, plebien (“a commoner”) and plebeien (“concerning the common people”). Cf. Medieval Latin plēbēiānus (“a commoner”), from plēbēius + -ānus.

Na plebeane will tak þe dochter of ane patriciane but hir consent.

1533, John Bellenden translating Livy, History of Rome, Vol. II, Ch. iv, Sect. ii

(historical, Ancient Rome) A member of the plebs, the common citizens of ancient Rome.

պլեբեյ

one of the common people of ancient Rome

There blude... vald hef na bettir cullour nor the blude of ane plebien or of ane mecanik craftis man.

c. 1550, Robert Wedderburn, The Complaynt of Scotlande..., Ch. xv, p. 102

The feelings of our heart, the agitation of our passions, the vehemence of our affections, dissipate all its conclusions, and reduce the profound philosopher to a mere plebeian.

1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral., London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 3:

A commoner, particularly (derogatory) a low, vulgar person.


plebeian

en-adj

plebeian (comparative more plebeian, superlative most plebeian)

more plebeian (comparative)
most plebeian (superlative)

noble

antonym(s) of “of or pertaining to the common people”

To what purpose be the plebeian Magistrates ordeined?

1566, William Painter, The Palace of Pleasure Beautified, Vol. I, Ch. iv, fol. 9 verso

(historical) Of or concerning the plebs, the common citizens of ancient Rome.


veld

Borrowed from Afrikaans veld, or from its etymon Dutch veld (“field; open country”) (formerly spelled veldt), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *felþuz (“field, plain”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Doublet of field.

In the Bokke-velds, as they are called, theſe animals [springbok] are found in great numbers, and ſometimes at Roode-Zand.

[1785, Andrew Sparrman, “Journey from Boshies-mans-river to Quamme-dacka”, in A Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, towards the Antarctic Polar Circle, and Round the World: […], volume II, London: G. G. J. and J. Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 84:

Advance tovvards the Cond Bokke Veld, or cold country of Antelopes: mountains covered with ſnovv.

1789 August, “Art. I. A Narrative of Four Journies into the Country of the Hottentots, and Caffraria, in the Years 1777, 1778, and 1779. Illustrated with a Map, and 17 Copper Plates. By Lieutenant William Paterson. […] Johnson. 1789. [book review]”, in [Thomas Christie], editor, The Analytical Review, or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign. […], volume IV, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 387:

People who have not been brought into contact with snakes may deny that they possess the power of fascinating a human being, but in the wild veldt strong, able-bodied men have been subjected to their spell, and can tell a different tale.

1879, Charles H. Eden, “A Despot in Council”, in Ula, in Veldt and Laager: A Tale of the Zulus (Asher’s Continental Library; 6), copyright edition, Hamburg: Karl Grädener, →OCLC, page 47:

The pastoral lands or "velds," which extend chiefly around the outer slopes and in the east, are distinguished according to the nature of the grass or sedge which they produce as "sweet" or "sour."

1879, K. J., “CAPE COLONY”, in The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, 9th edition, volume V, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, →OCLC, page 42, column 1:

Around, as far as the eye can see, there stretches the bare and dreary-looking plain. The Veld, as this plain is called, has a reddish soil, dry, barren, and dusty, with here and there at considerable intervals a straggling bush or a clump of thorn-shrubs.

1885, attributed to Jules Verne, “One for the Frenchman”, in [anonymous], transl., The Vanished Diamond: A Tale of South Africa, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 4:

I have a piece of veld on Doornfontein. It is a reserved veld. A small river runs here. It is the best grazing on my farm, being very sweet. I reserve it for my cattle.

1894 February 6, Henry Thomas Greef (plaintiff), J. D. Sheil (reporter), “Greef v. Van der Westhuysen”, in Reports of All Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of the Cape of Good Hope, During the Months of January, February and March, 1894. […], volume IV, part I, Cape Town: […] “Cape Times” office, […], →OCLC, page 28, column 2:

Viewed from a practical point of view there seems no reason to think that these animals will fail to withstand the conditions of the Natal veld.

1902 January 3, H[erbert] Watkins-Pitchford, “The Queensland Redwater Immune Cattle”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume IV, number 22, Maritzburg: The Times Printing and Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 678, column 2:

[W]e found vast numbers of Boer women and children would be left unprotected on the veldt.

1902 March 4, Joseph Chamberlain, “South African War.—Concentration Camps.”, in The Parliamentary Debates (Authorised Edition), Fourth Series, Third Session of the Twenty-seventh Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland […] (House of Commons), volume CIV, London: Wyman and Sons, […] [for] His Majesty’s Stationery Office, →OCLC, column 435:

And Thane nodded and staggered blindly upward, only to sag again in a heap upon the veldt.

1912, F[rancis] Bancroft, chapter III, in The Veldt Dwellers, 3rd edition, London: Hutchinson & Co. […], →OCLC, book IV, page 296:

Pale yellow and greyish brown, the bare veld of late summer lay flat and listless under the drab sky.

1979, André Brink, chapter 1, in A Dry White Season, 1st U.S. edition, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, published 1980, →ISBN, part 2, page 79:

From an early age, I spent most of my free time in the veld playing and fighting with the other boys of the village.

1994, Nelson Mandela, chapter 2, in Long Walk to Freedom, London: Abacus, published 2010, →ISBN, page 11:

South of the Zambesi, the frontier-line separates the high veldt and the low veldt regions, the line itself sometimes running along the crest and sometimes through the middle of the broken escarpment where the high granite tablelands break down towards the sea.

1995, Malyn [D. D.] Newitt, “The Interior South of the Zambesi in the Sixteenth Century”, in A History of Mozambique, Bloomington, Indianapolis, Ind.: Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 31:

For [Rachel] Holmes, [Sarah] Baartman’s journey as an object of European curiosity and African exploitation began on the veld of South Africa’s Eastern Cape.

2007 January 14, Caroline Elkins, “A life exposed”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-09-20:

In the flatness of the veldts, one would want to communicate with someone else in order to provide theme and variation to the unbounded and unfettered thoughts stretching outward, inspired by the immense sameness of this place.

2018, Tendai Rinos Mwanaka, “Ruins”, in Keys in the River: New and Collected Stories, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe: Mwanaka Media and Publishing, →ISBN, page 60:

(chiefly South Africa) The open grassland or pastureland of South Africa and neighbouring countries.


Roman Empire

/ˈɹəʊmən ˈɛmpaɪə/

/ˈɹoʊmən ˈɛmpaɪɚ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Roman Empire.wav

The sense "something that one frequently thinks about" is a reference to the "How Often Do You Think About the Roman Empire?" meme, popularized on Instagram and TikTok around September 2023.

(historical) The empire which succeeded the Roman Republic and existed between 27 B.C.E. and 476 C.E. in the west (and until 1453 C.E. in the east; see Byzantine Empire), encompassing territories stretching from Britain and Germany to Spain, North Africa and the Persian Gulf.

(historical, now rare) The Holy Roman Empire.


cedi

Ultimately from Fante Akan sedi (“cowrie shell”).

The currency of Ghana, divided into 100 pesewas and represented by ₵.


plebe

From Latin plēbs (“the plebeian class”), probably via Middle French plebe (“plebeians, commoners, the rabble”) and possibly later understood as a clipping of plebeian. Cognate with Italian plebe, Spanish plebe, Portuguese plebe.

der

Another the like was among the Romanes of Patricij & plebes, thone ſtriuing with thother a long time, the patricij many yeares excluding the plebes from bearing rule, vntill at laſt all magiſtrates were made cõmon [common] betweene thẽ [them]: […]

1562–1565 (date written), Thomas Smyth [i.e., Thomas Smith], “The Diuision of the Parts and Persons of the Common Wealth”, in De Republica Anglorum. The Maner of Gouernement or Policie of the Realme of England, […], London: […] Henrie Midleton for Gregorie Seton, published 1583, →OCLC, pages 19–20:

(historical, usually in the plural) A plebeian, a member of the lower class of Roman citizens.


9/11 attacks
911 (disambiguation)
Federal Communications Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

Chosen by the United States in the 1960s in place of the older British 999 number as a better way to avoid accidental calls from push-button telephones. It is officially pronounced "nine-one-one," not "nine-eleven," since "nine-eleven" refers to the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. 9/11 is universally distinguished from 911 and usually refers to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Officially written as 9-1-1 in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communications Commission, which is also advocated by some media style guides.

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

When you call 911 in the United States, a local dispatcher usually answers the phone with "911" or "911. What's your emergency?"

The telephone number for emergency services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Liberia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Anguilla, Palau, and Tonga.

emergency services(Australia) 000(Mongolia) 105(China, Iran) 110(New Zealand) 111(European Union) 112(Japan, South Korea) 119(UK, Ireland) 999


quindecemvir

en-noun

quindecemvir (plural quindecemvirs or quindecemviri)

quindecemvirs (plural)
quindecemviri (plural)

From Latin quindecemvir, from quindecim (“fifteen”) + vir (“man”).

(historical) Alternative form of quindecimvir.


mina

Borrowed from Latin mina, from Ancient Greek μνᾶ (mnâ, “mna”). Compare maneh, from Biblical Hebrew מָנֶה (māne), as well as maund.

What then of the actual fine of thirty minae Socrates proposes? Thirty minae was a large sum, “the equivalent of approximately eight-and-one-half years′ wages," according to one recent estimate (Brickhouse and Smith 1988, 227); enough to buy a library of three thousand philosophy books, if the price of Anaxogoras′ book is any guide (26d6-e2).

1989, C. D. C Reeve, Socrates in the Apology: An Essay on Plato′s Apology of Socrates, page 174:

(historical) A monetary unit of ancient Greece and the Middle East, originally equivalent to the weight of a mina of silver.

Thirty minas of lapis lazuli in a solid block, two minas each their rims, six kor of oil, the capacity of both.

1999, Andrew George, transl., Gilgamesh, section VI:

(historical) A unit of weight of varying value used in the ancient Middle East, especially Babylonia, Mesopotamia and Egypt; also an ancient Greek measure of weight equivalent to 1/60th of a talent, approximately 400-700 grams.


Republic of the Congo

A country in Central Africa. Capital: Brazzaville.

a country in Africa whose capital is Kinshasa


Augustus

From Latin Augustus, from augustus (“majestic, venerable”). Doublet of august.

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 2:1:

The Roman emperor Augustus, also called Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (63 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.); heir to Julius Caesar


dominate

dominate (countable and uncountable, plural dominates)

From Latin dominātus (“rule, command”) (genitive singular dominātūs).

During the Dominate this tendency was perfected to the point of dirigism in the modern sense, a state-directed society and state-controlled economy, obliterating, once again a prelude to modern times, the laissez-faire climate that had characterized the economic self-determination of the individual under the republic and the Principate.

1973, Karl Loewenstein, The Governance of Rome, Martinus Nijhoff, page 238:

1996, Clare Krojzl (translator), Sebastian Hensel, III: From Diocletian to Alaric [1886, lecture notes], Theodor Mommsen (editor), A History of Rome Under the Emperors, C.H.Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Republished 2005, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), eBook, page 317,
The dominate of Diocletian and Constantine differs more sharply from the principate than the latter does from the Republic.

1997, Thomas Dunlap (translator), Herwig Wolfram, The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples, [1990, Das Reich und die Germanen], University of California Press, 2005, Paperback, page 55,
Once someone had attained senatorial dignity by way of the successful tenure of some appropriate magistracy, one of the most important mechanisms of the dominate kicked in: all social rankings and professions were to a large extent heritable.

(historical) The late period of the Roman Empire, following the principate, during which the emperor's rule became more explicitly autocratic and remaining vestiges of the Roman Republic were removed from the formal workings of government; the reign of any particular emperor during this period.


Sahara

From Arabic صَحَارَى (ṣaḥārā, “deserts”).

Coordinate term: Nubian Desert

A desert in North Africa, the largest hot desert in the world.


senti

A coin, one hundredth of a Tanzanian shilling.


sente

A subdivision of currency, equal to one hundredth of a Lesotho loti.


Burkinabe

Via French burkinabé, from Moore burkĩna (“honest”) + Fula -ɓe (plural ending for a people noun), coined by Burkinabe revolutionary Thomas Sankara.

coin

A person from Burkina Faso or of Burkinabe descent.


Burkinabe

Of, from, or pertaining to Burkina Faso, the Burkinabe people or the Burkinabe language.


Guinean

Someone from Guinea or of Guinean descent.

Guineër

someone from Guinea or of Guinean descent


Delta

A state of Nigeria in the South South geopolitical zone. Capital: Asaba. Largest city: Warri.


Egyptology

en-noun

Egyptology (countable and uncountable, plural Egyptologies)

/ˌid͡ʒɪpˈtɑləd͡ʒi/

/ˌiːd͡ʒɪpˈtɒləd͡ʒi/

(uncountable) The study of ancient Egypt.

(countable) A work concerning ancient Egypt.


Imo

From Igbo Imo, derived from the Imo River.

A state of Nigeria in the South East geopolitical zone. Capital and largest city: Owerri.


Edo

A state of Nigeria in the South South geopolitical zone. Capital and largest city: Benin City.


Pyramids

A set of ancient pyramidal-shaped constructions in Egypt, mostly built as tombs for the pharaohs.


Puma

An administrative ward in the Singida Rural district of Tanzania.


Sphinx

From Middle English Spynx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “bind tightly, to strangle”). The appurtenance of Egyptian Szp:p-A53 (šzp, “image, statue, sphinx”) or Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “living image”) remains unclear.

cog

<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">šzp</i>

(usually with "the") An ancient, large statue in Egypt, with the face of a man and the body of a lion, lying near the Great Pyramids.


Volta

From Portuguese Volta, from volta (“turnaround, return”); at some point of time the river marked the point of return for the Portuguese traders.

Ellipsis of Volta River.: A river in West Africa, having given name to Upper Volta.


zaire

(historical) The unit of currency of Zaire.


Côte d'Ivoire

Unadapted borrowing from French Côte d’Ivoire.

ubor

The Ivory Coast, a country in West Africa.

Chį́į́h Yee Adilohii Bideeʼ Tónteel Bibąąh


DRC

Initialism of Democratic Republic of the Congo.


Jovian

en-adj

Jovian (comparative more Jovian, superlative most Jovian)

more Jovian (comparative)
most Jovian (superlative)

From Latin Iovis, genitive of Iuppiter, analysable as Jove + -ian.

Near-synonym: Zeusian

He did not admit of equals. But as a patron he was superb. With his Jovian air, his colossal condescension, his amused smile, his general suggestion of the god descending to the mortal, he could be quite overpowering in his amiability.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

(Roman mythology) Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus); Jove-like; befitting Jupiter.


Sahel

From Arabic سَاحِل (sāḥil, “border of the desert”).

bor

A region of Africa, between the Sahara to the north and a more humid zone (Sudan) to the south.


Abyssinia

From New Latin Abissīni, of Abissīnus (“Abyssinian, Ethiopian”), from Arabic الْحَبَشَة (al-ḥabaša), from حَبَش (ḥabaš, “Abyssinian”). The humorous use of Abyssinia as a parting phrase is due to its phonetic resemblance to I'll be seeing ya.

(historical) The Ethiopian Empire, a former empire in East Africa, consisting of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.

አቢሲንያ

historical name of the Ethiopian Empire - Ethiopia and Eritrea

ብሔረ አግዓዝ

bəḥerä ʾägʿaz


Caesar

From Latin Caesar. Displaced Old English cāsere, which would have yielded *caser, *coser, and Middle English keiser, kaiser, from Old Norse and continental Germanic languages. All ultimately from the same Latin root. (See also Kaiser and tsar.)

The Caesars were an ancient and aristocratic family, which for eight generations had been prominent in the commonwealth.

1891, William Rainey Harper, Herbert Cushing Tolman, Eight Books of Caesar’s Gallic War, New York, N.Y., Cincinnati, Oh., Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company, page 2:

Habel, 63 ff., believes that up to 51 the emperors bestowed priesthoods on the Caesares, using their special power of commendation; but that these Caesares were forced to wait until a place in a college was vacant; that after 51 the Caesares were elected by the senate.

1955, Papers and Monographs of the w:American Academy in Rome, volume 16, page 100:

To the powerful, the Caesares were flattering, deferential, sincerely devoted, self-sacrificing, loyal, eagerly serving.

1965, Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 128:

Five of the Caesares were killed during the years 90-85 (D. G., 3, 114).

1975, Collection Latomus, volume 142, page 39:

[…] Off. 1.133 and Att. 13.19.4 do not establish the uterine relationship of Catulus and the Caesares, merely the fact that Catulus and the Caesares were regarded as fratres.

1996, Antichthon, volumes 34–36, page 56:

Of the two plebeian candidates Silanus obviously counted on the assistance of Manlius, who was in office and to whom he was related from the grandfather, but his rival, a Minucius who had become a Marcius, counted on the patrician rival Caesar and on the other consul, L. Aurelius Cotta, because the Caesares were related by marriage both with the Marcii and the Cottae; in fact, Silanus was defeated by their coalition.

1999, Friedrich Münzer, translated by Thérèse Ridley, Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 319:

The Pulchri were a branch of the Clodius family, just as the Caesares were of the Julii.

2000, Richard W[alter] Hooper, Representative Chapters in Ancient History: From Romulus to Justinian, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 542:

He was joined on this commission by C. Caesar Strabo (RE Iulius no. 135), of another branch of the Caesares, who had stressed his heritage by adding the old Julian praenomen Vopiscus (see the cos. 473, MRR 1.29) to his name as a cognomen.

2009, Ernst Badian, “From the Iulii to Caesar”, in Miriam Griffin, editor, A Companion to Julius Caesar, Wiley Blackwell, →ISBN, page 15:

By about the middle of the 2nd cent., the Caesares were claiming descent from *Ascanius and, through him, from his grandmother Venus (see the coins Crawford, RRC 258, 129 bc, and 320, 103 bc, the latter with a symbolic reference to Apollo, the ancient god of the gens).

2012, Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow, editors, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 755:

An ancient Roman family name, notably that of Julius Caesar.


Caesar

en-noun

Caesar (plural Caesars or (title) Caesares)

Constantius Chlorus and Galerius became Caesares in 293; […]

1889, The Classical Review, volume III, London: David Nutt, […], page 232:

Owing to the victories gained in the wars from 295-297, the two Augusti, Diocletian and Maximian, and the two Caesares, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus, took the title of Carpicus Maximus, the last three receiving this title five times after the fighting from 302-303 (see Table 13).

1976, The Archaeology and History of the Carpi from the Second to the Fourth Century AD, →ISBN, page 171:

For within the principia the highest, and focal, point of the whole ensemble is formed by the ‘temple of the standards’, on whose lintel a Latin inscription proudly proclaimed the completion of the work: ‘The Repairers of their world and Propagators of the human race, our Lords Diocletianus and Maximianus, the most unconquered Imperatores, and Constantius and Maximianus (i.e., Galerius), the most noble Caesares, have successfully founded the camp (castra), under the care of Sossianus Hierocles, vir perfectissimus, governor (praeses) of the province, devoted to their numen and maiestas’.

1993, Fergus Millar, The Roman Near East, 31 BC – AD 337, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 182:

Caesarean section
Caesarean section#English

(medicine, colloquial) Short for Caesarean section.


tetrarchy

From Latin tetrarchia, from Ancient Greek τετραρχία (tetrarkhía), from τετρα- (tetra-, “four”) + -αρχία (-arkhía, “-archy: rule”).

Constantius was not born to the purple and Maximianus was the only original member of the First Tetrarchy from whom Constantine could satisfactorily derive his rule.

1996, Sam Lieu, “2: Constantine's "Pagan" Vision: The anonymous panegyric on Constantine (310), Pan. Lat. VII(6)”, in Samuel N. C. Lieu, Dominic Montserrat, editors, From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views: A Source History, published 2003, page 66:

The abdication of Diocletian and Maximian in 305, whether long-planned or just the product of the senior emperor's recent ill health, created a second Tetrarchy, in which the dominant figure should have been Galerius.

2010, Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000, 3rd edition, page 16:

His imperial reorganization saw authority divided between four rulers, the Tetrarchy, to oversee the recovery.

2015, David M. Gwynn, chapter I, in Christianity in the Later Roman Empire: A Sourcebook, page 15:

(politics) A government where power is shared by four people, especially (historical) the Herodian tetrarchy established in Judea after the death of Herod and the Tetrarchy of Diocletian which ruled the Roman Empire in the years 293-313.


Caracalla

/ˌkærəˈkælə/

From Latin; Caracalla's agnomen was named after a Gaulish cloak he favored.

A Roman emperor who ruled from 211 to 217 C.E..


solidus

From Middle English solidus, from classical Latin solidus (“solid”), see below. Doublet of sol, sold, soldo, solid, sou, and xu.
In numismatic and weight senses, via medieval Latin solidus (“various coins”), from Late Latin solidus (“a gold coin of the Roman Empire”). In chemical sense, via German Solidus, coined by H.W.B. Roozeboom in his 1899 Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, Stöchiometrie, und Verwandtschaftslehre (XXX, page 387).
In typography, from the shilling mark originally being an abbreviation (a long s ⟨ſ⟩), of Medieval Latin solidus meaning shilling.

der

slash (typography)
solidus (coin)
solidus (disambiguation)

(historical) Various medieval and early modern coins or units of account, particularly:

Its successor Byzantine coins, from the eleventh century onward of progressively debased weight and purity.


dinar

From Arabic دِينَار (dīnār) and Serbo-Croatian динар (also from Arabic), derived from the Latin dēnārius. Doublet of denar, denarius, denier, diner, dinero, and dinheiro.

doublet

Standing near Joseph, carrying a bag of taboon flatbreads, was Olivier, from Ivory Coast. He arrived a year ago and has been trying to save the 3,000 dinars (£780) he said it would cost to make the trip to Europe.

2023 March 30, Simon Speakman Cordall, “Tunisian morgue overflows as more people attempt risky sea crossing”, in The Guardian:

(numismatics) The official currency of several countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Serbia, Tunisia and (as denar) North Macedonia.


incwala

A Swazi ceremony that marks the first fruits of the harvest


Constantine

From Latin Cōnstantīnus, the name of Roman emperors, Latin cōnstāns (“constant, steadfast”). Doublet of Konstadinos.

St. Joseph County
St. Joseph County#English

A township and village therein, in St. Joseph County, Michigan, United States.


Venda

A former self-governing Black African homeland in South Africa.


Limpopo

. The province was named after the river.

Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.

1912, Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant's Child:

A river in Africa that rises near Johannesburg and flows about 1,770 km (1,100 miles) to the Indian Ocean in Mozambique.


plebs

From Latin plēbs (“the plebeian class”), variant of earlier plēbēs. Later also understood as the plural of pleb.

Why I am going with my pidgeons to the tribunall Plebs.

c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], line 92:

(historical) The plebeian class of Ancient Rome.


birr

The currency of Ethiopia, divided into 100 santims.


dobra

São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe

The official or principal currency of São Tomé and Príncipe, divided into 100 cêntimos.

dobra

official currency of São Tomé and Príncipe


FDR

Federal Democratic Republic
Federal Democratic Republic#English

Initialism of Federal Democratic Republic.

Abbreviation of Congo. (Federal Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Congo

Abbreviation of Ethiopia. (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia)


Maghreb

From Arabic مَغْرِب (maḡrib, literally “where the sun sets, the West”), noun of place from غَرَبَ (ḡaraba, “to set, to go down”).

der

A region of North Africa. Northwest Africa, the region of Africa north of the Sahara and west of the Nile. The lands of the Maghreb are generally considered to be the coastal plains of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and western Libya.


triumvirate

From Latin triumvīrātus, from triumvirī (“triumvirs”) + -ātus (“-ate”).

An official group of three people, especially a ruling council of three men and particularly (historical) two such councils in Roman history.


Julian

A village in Nebraska; named for early French settler Julian Bahuaud.

census-designated place
census-designated place

San Diego County
San Diego County#English

A census-designated place in San Diego County, California; named for early settler Mike Julian.

A census-designated place in Pennsylvania.

A locale in the United States.
An unincorporated community in Kansas.

An unincorporated community in North Carolina.

An unincorporated community in West Virginia; named for early landowner Julian Hill.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

When you call 999 in the UK, the operator usually answers the phone with "Emergency. Which service?"

The telephone number for emergency services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Burma, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Sudan, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Dominica, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and the Seychelles.

三条九 (saam¹ tiu⁴ gau², literally “triple nine”)

The telephone number for law enforcement in Singapore, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Eswatini, Botswana, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The telephone number for firefighting assistance in Malawi and Tonga.


Upper Volta

(historical) A former country (1958-1984) in West Africa; now Burkina Faso.


Democratic Republic of the Congo

the Democratic Republic of the Congo (canonical)

/ˌdɛməˈkɹætɪk ɹɪˈpʌblɪk əv ðə ˈkɒŋɡəʊ/

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s negotiator appeared to block the final deal presented by China, telling the plenary that he could not support the agreement in its current form because it did not create a new fund for biodiversity, separate to the existing UN fund, the global environment facility (GEF).

2022 December 19, Patrick Greenfield, Phoebe Weston, “Cop15: historic deal struck to halt biodiversity loss by 2030”, in The Guardian:

A country in Central Africa. Capital: Kinshasa.

Demokratiese Republiek die Kongo

large central African nation, formerly called Zaire

جُمْهُورِيَّة الْكُونْغُو الدِّيمُقْرَاطِيَّة

コンゴ民主共和国

コンゴみんしゅきょうわこく

ສາທາລະນະລັດປະຊາທິປະໄຕຄອງໂກ

sā thā la na lat pa sā thi pa tai khǭng kō

Zaire

names of predecessors of the modern state

a country in Africa whose capital is Brazzaville


ngwee

A currency of Zambia, one hundredth of a kwacha.


naira

A contraction of Nigeria, coined by Federal Commissioner for Finance Obafemi Awolowo.

‘Five naira for one small cup. The big one is ten naira.’

2019, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Abacus (2019), page 37:

The official currency of Nigeria, which replaced the pound in 1973; the principal denomination of the currency, equal to 100 kobo.


Setswana

A language spoken widely in Southern Africa, mainly in Botswana and South Africa in the Northern Cape, the central and western Free State and in the North West province, and also, to a lesser extent, in Namibia, also known as Tswana.


dirham

From Arabic دِرْهَم (dirham), ultimately from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Doublet of dram, drachma, diram, dirhem, and adarme.

doublet

United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates

(numismatics) A unit of currency used in the Arab world, currently the name of the currency of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.


Somaliland

From Somali + -land; analogous with Jubaland and Puntland.

A region of East Africa that comprises Somalia, Djibouti, and parts of Ethiopia.

Somali Coast Protectorate
Somali Coast Protectorate

An unrecognized state in East Africa, de-facto independent of Somalia; formerly the Somali Coast Protectorate.


sultan

en-noun

sultan (countable and uncountable, plural sultans or (rare, only in certain senses) salateen)

→ Chinese: 蘇丹／苏丹 (sūdān)

From French sultan, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). (compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and Hebrew סוּלְטָן (sultán)). Doublet of soldan.

der

Here from the king's mountain view
Here from the wild dream come true
Feast like a sultan, I do
On treasures and flesh never few

A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, Morocco (until 1956) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.


rupia

(historical) The former currencies of Italian Somaliland and Portuguese India.


Titus

Borrowed from Latin Titus, a Roman and Sabine praenomen meaning either "honorable" or "strong; of the giants".

The seventeenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle to Titus.

Titus Caesar Vespasianus, a Roman Emperor who succeeded Vespasian and preceded Domitian.


Chad Basin

The area surrounding Lake Chad and constituting the largest inland drainage area in Africa, with three major streams, the Komadugu Yobe, Logone, and Chari.


tablinum

(b) There was also a Pluteus (which we call Tablinum) a Place or Study, where the Pictures of their Ancestors, and their glorious Atchievements, were drawn or pourtray'd: On the other Side was the Kitchin, from whence they came into a Porch built about the Hall, or Cavedium, which, because `twas four-square, it was therefore surrounded with four Porticos, which may properly be called Walks or Piazzas.

1715, “Section II, Of Private Buildings”, in The history of many memorable things lost, which were in use among the ancients and an account of many excellent things found, now in use among the moderns ... written originally in Latin ... and now done into English ... with several additions (etc.), volume 1, London: John Nicholson, translation of original by Guido Pancirollus, page 72:

To my surprise I was shown not into the bedchamber but into the tablinum, where my imperial lover was half hidden by a mountain of paperwork.

2010, Kate Quinn, chapter 17, in Mistress of Rome, London: Headline Review, →ISBN, page 244:

(historical) An anteroom in a house of ancient Rome, opening out of the atrium opposite the main entry and often containing the family statues and archives.


syli

The currency of Guinea between 1971 and 1985, subdivided into 100 cauris.


nymphaeum

en-noun

nymphaeum (plural nymphaeums or nymphaea)

The root word is Ancient Greek νύμφη (númphē), which anciently, from prehistory, could mean “bride” or a special type of “goddess”: of mountains, trees, springs or meadows. Its appearance in Latin nymph- is a Hellenization, although Latin had its own derivatives from the Indo-European: nūpta (“bride”), nurus (“daughter-in-law”). In Classical Greek, an -ai- form referred to the goddess, becoming Latin -ae-, while an -ei- form referred to the bride, becoming Latin -ē-, but the Greek-speaking Romans, such as Pliny the Elder, confused the two. Thus Latin nymphaeum is from Greek nymphaion but Latin nymphēum is from νυμφεῖον (numpheîon), although they could be understood to have the same meaning.

(Ancient Greece, Roman Empire) An ancient Greek or Roman shrine consecrated to water nymphs, often with a fountain.


nakfa

From Tigrinya ናቕፋ (naḳʰfa, “Nakfa, Eritrea”).

The currency of Eritrea, divided into 100 cents.


lilangeni

lilangeni (plural lilangenis or emalangeni)

/ˌlɪlæŋˈɡeɪni/


CFA franc

CFA stands for Communauté Financière d'Afrique ("Financial Community of Africa") or Communauté Financière Africaine ("African Financial Community").

A currency used in 12 African countries, guaranteed by the French treasury.


dalasi

I stood at the desk, about to pay my twenty-five dalasi for fifteen minutes.

2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 386:

The currency of the Gambia, divided into 100 bututs.


ekwele

ekwele (plural ekweles or ekwele or bipkwele)

ekweles (plural)
ekwele (plural)
bipkwele (plural)

(historical) The former currency of Equatorial Guinea.


ariary

From Malagasy ariary, from Arabic الرِيَال (ar-riyāl, “riyal”). Doublet of real, regal, riyal, and royal.


santim

en-noun

santim (plural santims or santimi or santimu)

santims (plural)
santimi (plural)
santimu (plural)

From Latvian santīms, from French centime. Doublet of centim, centime, and centimo.

A subunit of Latvian currency. 100 santims equal a lat.


santim

From Arabic سَنْتِيم (santīm), from French centime. Doublet of centim, centime, and centimo.

A subunit of Moroccan currency. 100 santims equal a dirham.


santim

From Amharic ሳንቲም (santim), from French centime. Doublet of centim, centime, and centimo.

A subunit of Ethiopian currency. 100 santims equal a birr.


ouguiya

Borrowed from French ouguiya, from Arabic أُوقِيَّة (ʔūqiyya), via Classical Syriac and Ancient Greek from Latin uncia (“ounce”). Doublet of ounce, inch, uncia, oka, and awqiyyah.

doublet

The currency of Mauritania, divided into five khoums.


Krugerrand

Named for the obverse's picture of Paul Kruger, former president of the South African Republic.

(numismatics) A gold coin minted in South Africa, containing a full troy ounce of gold.


kwanza

Named after the Kwanza (Cuanza) River in Angola.

The currency of Angola, symbol Kz, divided into a hundred cêntimos.


antoninianus

en-noun

antoninianus (plural antoniniani or antoninianuses)

antoniniani (plural)
antoninianuses (plural)

From Late Latin Antōnīniānus (“pertaining to Antoninus”). Speculatively named in modern times after an Antoninus mentioned in the Augustan History, after whom some silver coins were said to be named. However, it is not known what this coin was called in antiquity.

bor

From the 5th year on, Iuppiter conservator coins are continuously produced actually on antoninianuses;

The coins were base silver antoninianuses of Decius, coins that had not been in circulation for more than 200 years.[…]The gold are extremely rare, but choice specimens of the debased silver antoninianuses can be purchased for less than $100 each.

1980 July 27, Edward C. Rochette, “Coin Roundup…”, in The Indianapolis Star, section 5, page 4:

Whether you enjoy coins for their beauty, history, romance, or antiquity, these ancient Roman antoninianuses are sure to please.

1985 January, “Treasures of the Roman Empire”, in Special Coin Letter, number 1005, page 5:

(historical, numismatics) A silver coin used during the Roman Empire, equal to two denarii.


dupondius

Latin dupondius, literally "two-pounder".

(historical) A bronze coin minted during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, equal to two asses.


metical

/ˌmɛtɪˈkɑːl/

Borrowed from Portuguese metical, from Arabic مِثْقَال (miṯqāl, “weight”). Doublet of mithqal

The currency of Mozambique, divided into 100 centavos.


ras

From Amharic ራስ (ras). More at Etymology 2.


budju

(historical) The monetary unit of Algeria until 1848, equivalent to 24 muzuna.


angolar

/ˌæŋɡəˈlɑː(ɹ)/

A former currency of Angola between 1926 and 1958, divided into 100 centavos.


tallero

From Italian tallero, from German Thaler (“dollar”).

The monetary unit of Eritrea from 1890 to 1921, equal to 5 lire.


argenteus

Borrowed from Latin argenteus (“of silver”).

A silver coin, minted in the Roman Empire between 294 and 310, weighing approximately 3 scruples.


somalo

(historical) The currency of Italian Somaliland from 1950 to 1962, divided into 100 centesimi.


follis

From Latin follis (“a bag”). Doublet of fool.

In Italy, the exarchs at Ravenna preserved the denominational structure of the currency, striking the bronze folles along with fractions and three silver denominations marked as pieces of 125, 150, and 500 nummiae (pl. 23.200). The solidus was officially exchanged at 300 folles (= 12,000 nummiae) or the rate that had obtained under Theodoric.

1996, Kenneth W. Harl, Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 b.c. to a.d. 700, Baltimore, Md., London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 199:

In the beginning, Antioch followed the weight policy of Constantinopolitan coins, but after a break in minting in 540/541–541/542 caused by the sack of the city by the Persians, the mint of Antioch continued to issue bronze folles of high weight standard, ever if the weight in Constantinople was already reduced by that period.

2016, Pavla Drápelová, “Province in Contrast to City: Irregularities and Peculiarities in the Coinage of Antioch (518–565)”, in Nicholas S. M. Matheou, Theofili Kampianaki, Lorenzo M. Bondioli, editors, From Constantinople to the Frontier: The City and the Cities, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, part 4 (The Cities), page 180:

The silver miliarensia from that era were minted exclusively for propaganda purposes, and in smaller amounts than the gold coins (nomismas) and the copper alloy coins (folles). They were practically not used in circulation, although in theory twelve miliarensia were equal in value to a gold nomisma.

2022, Vladimir Penchev, “What the coins from the Preslav treasure can tell us about the social status of its owner”, in Contributions to Bulgarian Archaeology, volume XII, →DOI, →ISSN, page 70:

(numismatics) A large bronze coin minted during the Roman Empire.


denarius

/dɪˈnɑːɹɪ.əs/

/dɪˈnɛəɹɪ.əs/

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

Borrowed from Latin dēnārius. Doublet of denar, denier, dinar, diner, dinero, and dinheiro.

doublet

"Sorry, I thought you were Aurel. He owes me a denarius. Have you seen him?"

1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 146:

2007, Philip Matyszak, Ancient Rome on 5 Denarii a Day (title of the book)

(Ancient Rome, numismatics) A small silver coin issued both during the Roman Republic and during the Roman Empire, equal to 10 asses or 4 sesterces. Roughly one day’s wage for a skilled worker.


aureus

From Latin aureus (“golden; gold coin equivalent to 25 denarii”), noun use of adjective, from aurum (“gold”). Doublet of eyrir, öre, øre, and oyra.

bor

A gold coin, minted in the Roman Empire from approximately 100 B.C.E. to 309 C.E., equal to 25 denarii.


loti

loti (plural)
maloti (plural)
lotis (plural)

From the Sotho loti, singular derivation of maloti, mulati (“mountains”); compare Maloti.

The basic monetary unit of the currency of the Kingdom of Lesotho, introduced in 1980 to replace the South African rand as legal tender.


peseta

From Spanish peseta, from peso (“coin or weight”).

The Equatorial Guinean peseta, a former currency of Equatorial Guinea


pesewa

From Twi Akan pέsεwa (“penny, penny's worth of gold dust”).

uder

In the currency of Ghana, one hundredth of a cedi.


Augustan

From the Latin Augustānus, from Augustus, a Roman emperor who ruled a period of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana or Pax Augusta.

Pertaining to the times of the Roman emperor Augustus (63 B.C.E. - 14 C.E.).

(literature) Pertaining to the Roman poetic literature during this time.