| 释义 |
African, n. and a.|ˈæfrɪkən|
Also 6–7 Af(f)ricane, (6 Aph-).
[OE. (only pl.) Africanas, ad. L. Africānae, f. Africa, n. use of fem. (sc. terra land) of Africus, f. Afrī (sg. Afer) ancient people of N. Africa; see -an.]
A. n.
a. A native or inhabitant of Africa; a Black African.
In local usage applied to the particular Negro (negroid) race or races of a territory in Africa, as (S. Afr.) the Bantu people of South Africa.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xvi. §2 Þa he feaht wið Africanas. c1205Layamon's Brut (1847) 25379 Mid him com moni Aufrican. Ibid. 27501 Of Ethipe wes þe an, þe oðer wes an Aufrican. 13..K. Alisaunder (1952) 2021 And lete armen þine Affricanes. 1564Harding Answ. Jewel 61v, He being an Aphricane borne, and writing to Aphricanes. 1567T. Stapleton Counterblast Pref., I reporte me to the Africans, who falling from the vnitie of the Romaine See..became in time Infidelles. 1671A. Woodhead Consid. Council of Trent ii. 20 Which was the chief matter stood upon by the Affricans against Pope Bonifacius. 1687W. D. tr. B. Le Bovier de Fontanelle's Discourse Plurality of Worlds iii. 50 All Faces in general are wrought according to one and the same model, but those of two great Nations, of the Europeans, for example, and Africans seem to be fram'd to two particular models. 1780A. Butler Lives Saints IX. 172 The concurring suffrages of sixteen ancient and worthy bishops (two of whom were Africans). 1806Gleanings in Africa xvi. 121 The case of the unhappy African is..entirely different. The unoffending negro, in the forests and morasses of Africa, never so much as meditated hostility against Europe. 1849Carlyle in Fraser's Mag. XL. 672/2 Our West-Indian policy..of keeping down the labour-market in those islands by importing new Africans. 1952L. Marquard Peoples & Pol. of S. Afr. i. 1 Today..8,500,000 Africans form part of the population of South Africa.
b. spec. Applied to a white resident of Africa.
1815A. Plumptre tr. Lichtenstein's Trav. S. Afr. II. iv. xxxv. 96 Like all other settlers here, they [the French settlers] are become entirely Africans. 1923O. Schreiner Thoughts on S. Afr. ii. 77 The young English African who has never been in Europe may boast that South Africa is the finest country on earth. 1934‘N. Giles’ Ridge of White Waters i. xiii. 150 As an African, with Dutch blood in me, I am suspected of Republican sympathies. Ibid. xiv. 163 Why does the Government give the vote to Hollanders and leave good Africans out in the cold? 1953P. H. Abrahams Return to Goli v. 179, I am convinced that of all the whites in the plural societies of Africa only the descendants of the Trekkers have made that deeply subjective..transition in their relations with the African earth that has made pure Africans of them.
c. A Black inhabitant of the United States, of African origin or descent; an Afro-American. Now rare exc. Hist.
1700in Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1864) VII. 163 It might not be unreasonable to enquire whether we are not culpable in forcing the Africans to become Slaves amongst our selves. 1721New-England Courant 18–25 Dec. 1/1 On Thursday last was solemnized here the Wedding of two Africans. 1800Boston Selectmen 3 Sept., All Africans and Negroes resident in this town. 1855Southern Lit. Messenger Nov. 656/2 The African was not without his redeeming traits... He was not a bad specimen of the physical man. 1970R. D. Abrahams Positively Black vi. 149 This was the very place in which culture was stripped from the Africans. 1979D. F. Littlefield Africans & Creeks i. 22 There is at present no evidence that Indians..held Africans as slaves.
B. adj.
1. a. Of or pertaining to Africa (the continent, or the ancient Roman province of that name); occurring in some specific names of plants, trees, etc. (see quots.). b. Belonging to or characteristic of the Black peoples of Africa.
1564Harding Answ. Jewel f. 89v, This reconciliation..of the Affricane churches to the catholike church. 1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. iii. 128 The Africane bishopes in the Councell of Carthage. 1597,1611, etc. [see marigold 1 b]. 1607Topsell Foure-f. Beasts 99 The Affrican Camels, are much more woorth then the Asian. Ibid. 249 A medicine made of an Affrican Sparrow. 1624[Scott] 2nd Pt. Vox Populi 23 That (insolent and african pride) of restrayning him from that liberall..conuerse..with the Lady Maria Infanta. 1646‘Thos. Carre’ Occas. Disc. 147 The Epist. of the Africane Bishops to Pope Celestine. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Ulpicum..African Garlick. 1782Latham Gen. Syn. Birds I. ii. 532 African C[uckow]. 1861Bentley Man. Bot. 645 Oldfieldia africana, yields..African Oak or African Teak. Ibid. 677 Sanseviera zeylanica..[produces] African Hemp or Bowstring Hemp. 1869Allies Form. Christendom ii. 277 Tertullian adds the witness of the African church to that of the Asiatic and Gallic churches in Irenæus. 1913C. Pettman Africanderisms 24 African walnut (Schotia brachypetala, Sond). A tree bearing handsome, bright scarlet flowers. The wood is said to be much like walnut, but closer in the grain, and takes a splendid polish. 1921W. Bullock Timbers for Woodwork 24 African Walnut..is a production from the west coast of Africa, being obtained from the French Congo, the Cameroons and the Nigerian territories... The colour of this timber is the only feature in which it compares with walnut, being quite unlike in every other respect. 1941F. L. Mulford House Plants 25 The so-called African-violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) is a blue-flowered, constant-blooming plant under house culture. 1958Economist 13 Dec. 24/1 The idea of the ‘African personality’, about which African leaders talk so grandiosely.
c. Being or pertaining to a Black inhabitant of the United States.
1722C. Mather Diary 16 Jan. (1912) II. 672 My African Servant must be præpared for the Baptism, which he has been long seeking for. 1796J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (ed. 3) i. 554 The African schools, into which slaves as well as free persons, of whatever age, of both sexes, are admitted gratis, and taught reading, writing, arithmetic &c. 1845Knickerbocker XXVI. 334 Concert this evening, by the African Melodists. 1971Black World Apr. 32 Black Theater..should..be utilizing..the life-style of African peoples in America.
2. Special collocation: African elephant, the species of elephant, Loxodonta africana, found in Africa, distinguished from the Indian by its larger ears and greater size; cf. Indian elephant, s.v. indian a. 4 a.
1607Topsell Foure-f. Beasts 192 Some Authors affirme, that the *Affrican Elephants are much greater then the Indian. 1800G. Shaw Gen. Zool. I. i. 224 The African Elephant is said to be smaller than the Asiatic: yet..the largest tusks come from Africa. 1965D. Morris Mammals 337 Other distinguishing characteristics of the African Elephant..are the very large ears..and the concave curve of the back.
For ‘Special collocation’ read ‘Special collocations’ and add: [B.] [2.] African horse disease = *African horse-sickness below.
1912Lady A. Blunt Jrnl. 1878–1917 20 Feb. (1986) 353, I got one interesting piece of information from the Duke of Westminster about that swelled head disease of which we have lost two or three foals. It is the *African horse disease. 1961Spectator 3 Feb. 135 The Ministry of Agriculture..advised on the matter of African horse disease..was able to tell Moscow that the Russian horses will be allowed to compete in the Grand National.
African horse sickness = horse-sickness s.v. horse n. 28 a.
1899D. Hutcheon Dis. Horse (Index), *African (South) horse sickness. 1974Stand Encycl. S. Africa X. 301/1 Horse-sickness, better called African horse-sickness, is an acute infectious disease of horses, mules and sometimes donkeys. 1991Sci. News 5 Jan. 4/3 Other reoviruses, called orbiviruses, pose a significant veterinary threat, causing an equine disease called African horse sickness.
African swine fever, a usu. fatal viral disease of pigs, originating from sub-Saharan Africa and characterized by high fever, haemorrhages in the skin, and partial paralysis.
[1921R. E. Montgomery in Jrnl. Compar. Path. & Therapeutics XXXIV. 159 The diagnosis of what is herein termed East *African swine fever dates from June 1910.] 1957Smith & Jones Vet. Path. ix. 297 Changes grossly evident in African swine fever are similar in many respects to those of hog cholera, but are generally more severe. 1993New Scientist 17 July 35/2 Some say that the threat of African swine fever was nothing more than a rumour generated by Duvalier to justify killing the pigs.
African violet = saintpaulia n.
1902L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Hort. IV. 1598/1 Saintpaulia... ionantha... *African Violet. Usambara violet. 1941F. L. Mulford House Plants 25 The so-called African-violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) is a blue-flowered, constant-blooming plant under house culture. 1990Garden News 21 Nov. 5/4 A new but yet unnamed African violet raised by Tony Clements caught the attention of the enthusiasts. |