English

Noun

American ‎(plural Americans)

1. Originally, a native or inhabitant of the British North American colonies of European descent; now, a person born in, or a citizen or inhabitant of, the United States of America. [from 17th c.]
   • 2008, Chris Moss, The Guardian, 9 Aug 2008:

     They say Americans don't walk. Well, they do in the Navajo Nation - because even if northern Arizona has gigabytes of photogenic vistas, getting out of the car is the only way to get your boots covered in desert dust and soak up the silence.

2. An indigenous inhabitant of the Americas; a Native American or an American Indian. (Now chiefly with qualifying word.) [from 16th c.]
   • 1711, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, 56.1:

     The Americans believe that all creatures have souls.

   • 2012, Jonathan Keates, ‘Mon Père, ce héros’, Literary Review, 402:

     Within a few months the ‘slave Alexandre’ had been successfully transformed into what, across the Channel, was called a ‘blackamoor dandy’. Parisians preferred the more politely euphemistic term ‘American’.

3. An inhabitant of the Americas. More often this is specified as either North American, Central American or South American.

   Every American's origin is, historically speaking, by immigration, if scientific speculation that points to a human origin in Asia and a migration to the New World over frozen Bering Strait turns out to be correct.

4. (uncountable, US printing, rare, dated) A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type.

Synonyms

• Western Hemispherian, New Worlder

Hyponyms

• Ameritard

Derived terms

• American darter
• American snakebird
• Central American
• North American
• South American
• Americanoid

Translations

Proper noun

American

1. The English language as spoken in the USA; American English.
   • 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (Canongate 2006), page 756:

     We sat down in the central square and drank coffee and a man came up and spoke to us in American.

Translations

Adjective

American ‎(comparative more American, superlative most American)

1. Of or pertaining to the Americas. More often this is specified as either "North American" or "South American."
2. Of, from, or pertaining to the United States of America, its people or its culture.

   Thanksgiving is an American tradition.

   He married an American woman in order to get an American passport.

   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, Chapter 1

     Should you ever be athirst in the great American desert, try this experiment, if your caravan happen to be supplied with a metaphysical professor.

Usage notes

Sometimes (usually outside of the USA) used pejoratively (see also anti-Americanism).

Synonyms

• Western Hemispherian, New Worlder
• (US American): United Statesian, USAian, Usanian, Usonian, US American, US-ian; (in Cockney rhyming slang:) Septic, Usonan

Hypernyms

• (US American): North Atlanticist

Translations

Derived terms

Look at pages starting with American.

See also

• Yankee
• Yank

References

• North America
• South America
• United States of America

Anagrams

• amacrine
• cinerama
• in camera

Romanian

Adjective

american m, n ‎(feminine singular americană, masculine plural americani, feminine and neuter plural americane)

1. American

Declension

Noun

american m ‎(plural americani, feminine equivalent americancă)

1. an American man

Declension

Venetian

Adjective

american m (feminine singular americana, masculine plural americani, feminine plural americane)

1. American

Related terms

• Amèrica

Synonyms

• merican