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American

//əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kən// adj, name, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of, from, or pertaining to the United States of America, its people, or its culture.
"He married an American woman in order to get an American passport."
2
Of, from, or pertaining to the Americas. uncommon
"This is pure American powder from the foothills of Colombia."
3
Of, from, or pertaining to British North America. historical
4
Of, from, or pertaining to the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas. archaic
5
Able to be exercised on any date between its issue and expiry. not-comparable
"All of these trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Most of the contracts are European. An exception is the OEX contract on the S&P 100, which is American."

Adjective

1
of or relating to or characteristic of the continents and islands of the Americas wordnet
2
of or relating to the United States of America or its people or language or culture wordnet

Proper Noun

1
A township in Allen County, Ohio, United States.

Noun

1
A citizen or national of the United States of America.
"Americans! your republican politics, not less than your republican religion, are flagrantly inconsistent. You boast of your love of liberty, your superior civilization, and your pure Christianity, while the whole political power of the nation... is solemnly pledged to support and perpetuate the enslavement of three millions of your countrymen."
2
the English language as used in the United States wordnet
3
Any inhabitant of the Americas.
4
a native or inhabitant of a North American or Central American or South American country wordnet
5
A citizen or inhabitant of British America. historical

Show 7 more definitions

6
a native or inhabitant of the United States wordnet
7
An indigenous inhabitant of the Americas. archaic
"The Americans believe that all creatures have souls."
8
An inhabitant of French or Spanish New World colonies. obsolete
"1839, Washington Irving, 'National Nomenclature', The Knickerbocker In France, when I have announced myself as an American, I have been supposed to belong to one of the French colonies; in Spain, to be from Mexico, or Peru, or some other Spanish-American country."
9
The dialect of English spoken in and around the contiguous United States of America. colloquial, humorous, informal
"-A . Spanish ; my mother and father speak American ; my brothers and sisters speak Spanish ; when he is in the house , we speak American ; we have American prayers at night before we go to bed . Q. Is that usual in the families of the[…]"
10
American cheese. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
"Q: What kinds of cheese do you have? A: We have American, Swiss, cheddar, provolone, or wiz."
11
A steam locomotive of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement.
12
A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type. US, dated, rare, uncountable

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *amalą Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs Proto-Celtic *rīxsbor. Proto-Germanic *rīks Proto-Germanic *Amalarīksder. Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos Proto-Indo-European *tḱóymos Proto-Germanic *haimaz ▲ Proto-Germanic *rīks Proto-Germanic *Haimarīksder.? Italian Amerigoder. New Latin Americalbor. English America Middle English -n English -n English American From America + -n. compare Latin amerī̆canus.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

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