Africana

Af·ri·ca·na
A1F4R1I1C3A1N1A1
/ˌæfɹɪˈkænə//ˌæfɹɪˈkɑnə//ˌæfɹɪˈkeɪnə/

noun

Collectible objects, such as maps, documents and artifacts, peculiar to Africa, especially Southern Africa.

OriginLatin āfricāna →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounAfricana pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyCollectible objects, such as maps, documents and artifacts, peculiar to Africa, especially Southern Africa.
    1 more example

    Africana is a word of many different meanings; to one it means books and other printed or manuscript material, to another it means objects other than books. For Africana Notes and News it is used in its widest sense ... it is restricted only from a geographical point of view; it denotes not the whole of Africa but only Southern Africa. (Africana Notes & News, 1943)

  2. pluralplural onlyThe various cultures and peoples of Africa and the African diaspora, considered collectively.

Origin

  1. Latināfricāna
  2. EnglishAfricana

From Latin āfricāna, the neuter plural of āfricānus (“African”). By surface analysis, Africa + -ana (“things (plural)”), analogous to Americana. First attested in 1908.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Africana

MontanaBotswanaghanaanadanaGuyananirvanaAmericanamanananaTijuanaiguanacabanapranaTiranaarcanakanaohanayanabrewerianaDisneyanakatakanalianahiragana
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

Africana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Africana

MLA

“Africana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Africana. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Africana,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Africana.

Source: Africana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.