*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Afro-

Etymology tree Latin Āfrī Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- English Afro- Derived from Latin Āfrī, Āfer + -o-. Abstracted from Afro-American (attested 1902) and becoming generally popular from the 196

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prefix

African

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Latin Āfrī Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- English Afro- Derived from Latin Āfrī, Āfer + -o-. Abstracted from Afro-American (attested 1902) and becoming generally popular from the 1960s.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionĀfrīla
  • Word-formation component-o-en
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "la:Āfer<alt:Āfrī>",
        "4": "-o-<id:connective>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin Āfrī\nAncient Greek -ο- (-o-)der.\nLatin -o-bor.\nEnglish -o-\nEnglish Afro-\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"connective\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"connective\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ο-\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-o-\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-o-\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Afro-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Afro-\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "d",
        "3": "D"
      },
      "expansion": "D"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "derived terms",
        "2": "Derived"
      },
      "expansion": "Derived"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Āfrī",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Āfrī"
    },
    {
      "name": "der+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Āfrī"
      },
      "expansion": "Derived from Latin Āfrī"
    },
    {
      "name": "affix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-o-"
      },
      "expansion": "-o-"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "la:Āfer<alt:Āfrī>",
        "4": "-o-<id:connective>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin Āfrī\nAncient Greek -ο- (-o-)der.\nLatin -o-bor.\nEnglish -o-\nEnglish Afro-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Āfrī",
      "Afer#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ο-",
      "-ο-#Ancient_Greek:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "-o-",
      "-o-#Latin:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "-o-",
      "-o-#English:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "Āfrī",
      "Afri#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Āfer",
      "Afer#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-o-",
      "-o-#English"
    ],
    [
      "Afro-American",
      "Afro-American"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "African"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "fab6fa15cdc574f4985f6512b8e4c64077a2aafa56aad367cd984775be50ad3a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9ff6d7df80d963200e7f360d485058111af9672a6fcfecc88ee99dacf1d7475c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 274435
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Afro- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-QWZyby0