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The name Africa was originally used by the ancient Romans to refer to the northern part of the continent that corresponds to modern-day Tunisia. There are many theories regarding its origin. Africa terra means "land of the Afri" (plural, or "Afer" singular), referring to the Afri tribe, who dwelt in Northern Africa around the area of Carthage.
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km 2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. [9] With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population.
America is also inscribed on the Paris Green Globe (or Globe vert) which has been attributed to Waldseemüller and dated to 1506–07: as well as the single name inscribed on the northern and southern parts of the New World, the continent also bears the inscription: America ab inuentore nuncupata (America, named after its discoverer). [14]
[b] [12] The continent has between 1250 and 2100 languages, [13] and at its peak it is estimated that Africa had around 10,000 polities, with most following traditional religions. [14] From the 7th century CE, Islam spread west amid the Arab conquest of North Africa, and by proselytization to the Horn of Africa, bringing with it a new social ...
British East Africa (former name): after its geographical position on the continent of Africa and the former colonial power, . See also Britain, above, and Africa on the Place name etymology page. From the Kikuyu word Kirinyaga a contraction of Kirima nyaga "Ostrich mountain", so called because the dark shadows and snow-capped peak resemble the ...
At its most severe, the name may be completely replaced. However, often the name may be recycled and altered in some way. Typically, this will be in one of the above ways; as the meaning of place-name is forgotten, it becomes changed to a name suitable for the new language.
Map of Ancient Egypt and nomes. After the desertification of the Sahara, settlement became concentrated in the Nile Valley, where numerous sacral chiefdoms appeared.The regions with the largest population pressure were in the Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt, in Upper Egypt, and also along the second and third cataracts of the Dongola Reach of the Nile in Nubia. [5]
Āfrī (singular Āfer) [1] was a Latin name for the inhabitants of Africa, referring in its widest sense to all the lands south of the Mediterranean (Ancient Libya). [2] [3] Latin speakers at first used āfer as an adjective, meaning "of Africa". As a substantive, it denoted a native of Āfrica; i.e., an African.