African-American

English

Alternative forms

• African American

Adjective

African-American (comparative more African-American, superlative most African-American)

1. (of a person) American and black.
2. (nonstandard, US, of a person) Black.
3. Of or pertaining to the culture of African-American people.

Usage notes

• This term is somewhat formal, and frequently seen as a politically correct alternative to black.
• Aside from black and of color, most other synonyms are dated, and likely to be considered offensive in the United States.
• This term is not used for Americans of North African descent whose skin is not black, such as Berbers or Egyptians.

Translations

American and black

• Czech: afroamerický (cs)
• Finnish: afroamerikkalainen (fi)
• German: afroamerikanisch (de)
• Hungarian: afroamerikai (hu)

• Portuguese: afro-americano (pt)
• Romanian: afro-american (ro)
• Spanish: afroamericano (es)

Synonyms

• (black): black, of color (attributive only), Negro (dated), colored (dated), Afro-American (dated)

Noun

Wikipedia African-American (plural African-Americans)

1. A black American.
2. (nonstandard, US) Any black person.

Usage notes

• This term is somewhat formal, and frequently seen as a politically correct alternative to black person.
• Aside from black person and person of color, most other synonyms are dated, and likely to be considered offensive.

Translations

A black American

• Czech: Afroameričan (cs) m
• German: Afroamerikaner (de) m, Afroamerikanerin (de) f
• Hungarian: afroamerikai (hu)

• Portuguese: afro-americano (pt) m
• Romanian: afroamerican (ro) m, afroamericană (ro) f

Synonyms

• (black person): black person, person of color, Negro (dated), colored (dated), Afro-American (dated), nigger (highly offensive), darky (highly offensive, archaic), Afro-Usonian (rare)