English

Noun

Afro-Indian ‎(plural Afro-Indians)

1. A person described by both African and indigenous American ancestry or culture.
   • 1909, Booker T. Washington, The story of the Negro: the rise of the race from slavery, volume 1, Doubleday, Page & Co., page 133:

     In a recent account of the last of the unconquered Seminoles, who are still living in the Everglades of Florida, I noticed reference to an Afro-Indian who apparently holds a position among these people corresponding to that of a sheriff, since he is described as executioner of the tribe.

2. A person described by both African and South Asian or East Indian (especially from India) ancestry or culture.
   • 2008, Patrick Lynn Rivers, Governing Hate and Race in the United States and South Africa, SUNY Press, ISBN 9780791475614, page 97:

     Ngema used his song to initiate what he called a "constructive discussion" about conflicts separating Zulus and Afro-Indians.

Adjective

Afro-Indian ‎(comparative more Afro-Indian, superlative most Afro-Indian)

1. Having both African and indigenous American ancestry or other attributes, whether of people, cultures, cuisine, language, and so on.
   • 2003, Jayme A. Sokolow, The Great Encounter: Native Peoples and European Settlers in the Americas, 1492-1800, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 9780765609823, page 177:

     Despite the decline of Indian slavery, throughout the eighteenth century South Carolina newspapers frequently advertised for runaway Indian and Afro-Indian slaves.

2. Having both African and South Asian or East Indian (especially from India) ancestry or other attributes, whether of people, cultures, cuisine, language, and so on.
   • 2008, Carole Boyce Davies, Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, volume 1, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 9781851097005, page 563:

     Afro-Indian settlements were established at least since the early 16th century onwards. Through migration of ex-slaves and free Africans within India, new settlements arose, such as that in the hilly district of Uttara Kannada[...]

3. Pertaining to both Africa and India.
   • 2004, Ababu Minda Yimene, An African Indian Community in Hyderabad: Siddi Identity, its Maintenance and Change, Cuvillier Verlag, ISBN 9783865372062, page 64:

     Another evidence of early Afro-Indian trade relations is to be found in the work of the Greco-Egyptian monk Cosmos Indicopleustes who wrote, as cited by Pankhurst (1972:10), in the early sixth century that Barbaria, probably Somalia, had substantial trade with India and Ceylon.

Synonyms

• Zambo
• Siddi
• Indo-African
• Afrindian