Afro-American

noun

A native or resident of the United States (an American) who is of African heritage.

Meanings

nounAfro-American (plural Afro-Americans)

plural Afro-Americans · alternative Aframerican · alternative Afromerican

  1. datedA native or resident of the United States (an American) who is of African heritage.
    1 more example

    That great battle was won, not because the victim of slavery was a negro, mulatto, or an Afro-American, but because the victim of slavery was a man and a brother to all other men, a child of God, and could claim with all mankind a common Father, and therefore should be recognized as an accountable being, a subject of government, and entitled to justice, liberty and equality before the law, and every where else.

    1894 September 3, Frederick Douglass, Blessings of Liberty and Education, Manassas, Virginia

    Synonyms: African-American

adjectiveAfro-American (not comparable)

alternative Aframerican · alternative Afromerican

  1. datednot comparableOf African-American heritage or culture.

    I inadvertently gave the afro-american delivery boi a $5 tip probably due to the fact that I had pickled a few brain cells.

    2004 August 5, "Zonee", “Ungratefull fucking pizza boi....”, in alt.pizza.delivery.drivers (Usenet), retrieved 09 Mar 2008

    Synonyms: African-American

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA native or resident of the United States (an American) who is of African heritage.

adjectiveOf African-American heritage or culture.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivepertaining to or characteristic of Americans of African ancestry

nounan American whose ancestors were born in Africa

Similar
African AmericanBlack American
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. LatinĀfrī
  2. EnglishAfro-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₃emh₃-
  4. Proto-Germanic*amalą
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₃reǵ-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₃rḗǵs
  7. Proto-Celtic*rīxs
  8. Proto-Germanic*rīks
  9. Proto-Germanic*Amalarīks
  10. Proto-Indo-European*ḱey-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóymos
  12. Proto-Indo-European*teḱ-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*tḱéytibf.
  14. Proto-Indo-European*tḱey-
  15. Proto-Indo-European*tḱóymos
  16. Proto-Germanic*haimaz
  17. Proto-Germanic*rīks
  18. Proto-Germanic*Haimarīksder.?
  19. ItalianAmerigo
  20. New LatinAmerica
  21. EnglishAmerica
  22. EnglishAmerican
  23. EnglishAfro-American

From Afro- + American.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: Afro-American on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.