Africa

plural Africas · alternative sometimes Afrika · alternative archaic Affrike · alternative archaic poetic Afric · alternative obsolete Africk · alternative obsolete Afficky

1. countableuncountableThe continent that is south of Europe, east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and north of Antarctica.

   the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa

   1 more example

   As Russia’s foothold in Africa expands – notably in the mineral-rich Sahel region that is beset by recurring coups, armed rebellion and extremist insurgency – anti-Western sentiments, partly fueled by Russian propaganda, are engineering the exit of Western troops from swathes of territory.

   2025 January 18, Nimi Princewill, “Across Africa, Russia is growing in influence. What might Moscow want?”, in CNN

   Synonyms: Dark Continent

2. countablenonstandardproscribeduncountableSub-Saharan Africa, contrasted with the Maghreb.

   The Sahara stood as an important marker between the Maghreb and Africa, not only in modern times but in times immemorial.

   2021 June 10, Abdelmajid Hannoum, The Invention of the Maghreb: Between Africa and the Middle East, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 205

3. countablehistoricaluncountableA former province of the Roman Empire, containing what is now Tunisia, northeastern Algeria and portions of coastal Libya; existing from 146 BC (initially in the Roman Republic) through 698 AD, except for 439 through 534 AD, when it was occupied by the Vandals.
4. countableuncountableA surname.