Afro-indian
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A person described by both African and indigenous American ancestry or culture.
"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.
"Ngema used his song to initiate what he called a "constructive discussion" about conflicts separating Zulus and Afro-Indians."
- 1 Having both African and indigenous American ancestry or other attributes, whether of people, cultures, cuisine, language, and so on.
"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.
"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.
"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."
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
From Afro- + Indian.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.