A World of Words: Africa - Introductory

Review this list of words related to Africa and explore the diverse countries of the world's second-largest continent. You'll learn about the climate, biomes, natural resources, and geographical features of Africa. This list also covers African wildlife, including the gazelle, the lemur, the wildebeest, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. African elephant
    an elephant native to Africa having enormous flapping ears and ivory tusks
  2. agrarian
    relating to rural matters
  3. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  4. animism
    the doctrine that all natural objects have souls
  5. aquifer
    underground layer of rock or sand that yields groundwater
  6. arable
    capable of being farmed productively
  7. arid
    lacking sufficient water or rainfall
  8. basin
    the geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries
  9. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  10. business district
    the central area or commercial center of a town or city
  11. camel
    cud-chewing mammal used as a saddle animal in desert regions
  12. canal
    long and narrow strip of water for boats or for irrigation
  13. caravan
    a procession traveling together in single file
  14. cash crop
    a cultivated plant that is grown to be sold for profit
  15. cataract
    disease that involves the clouding of the lens of the eye
  16. chimpanzee
    a species of great ape native to African forests
  17. Christianity
    a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior
  18. civil war
    a war between factions in the same country
  19. clan
    group of people related by blood or marriage
  20. climate
    the weather in some location averaged over a period of time
  21. cocoa bean
    seed of the cacao tree
  22. colonialism
    exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one
  23. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
  24. community
    a group of people living in a particular local area
  25. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
  26. continent
    one of the large landmasses of the earth
  27. coup
    a sudden and decisive change of government by force
  28. deforestation
    the removal of trees
  29. deity
    a supernatural being worshipped as controlling the world
  30. democratic
    representing or appealing to the people at large
  31. Democratic Republic of the Congo
    a republic in central Africa
  32. deposit
    matter that has been implanted by some natural process
  33. desert
    arid land with little or no vegetation
  34. desertification
    a gradual transformation into arid, uninhabitable land
  35. development
    making some area of land or water more profitable or useful
  36. dialect
    the usage or vocabulary characteristic of a group of people
  37. diamond
    very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem
  38. drought
    a shortage of rainfall
  39. Egypt
    a republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BC
  40. elevation
    distance of something above a reference point
  41. endangered
    in imminent threat of extinction
  42. equator
    an imaginary line around the Earth forming a great circle
  43. escarpment
    a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau or ridge
  44. Ethiopia
    Ethiopia is a republic in northeastern Africa on the Red Sea
  45. famine
    a severe shortage of food resulting in starvation and death
  46. fellah
    an agricultural laborer in Arab countries
  47. fishery
    a workplace where fish are caught and processed and sold
  48. foreign aid
    aid provided to one nation by another
  49. forestry
    the science of developing and caring for wooded areas
  50. fossil
    the remains of a plant or animal from a past geological age
  51. gazelle
    a small antelope native to Africa and Asia
  52. gold mine
    a mine where gold ore is found
  53. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  54. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  55. highland
    elevated (e.g., mountainous) land
  56. immigrant
    a person who comes to a country in order to settle there
  57. impala
    African antelope with ridged curved horns
  58. indigenous
    originating where it is found
  59. industry
    the action of making of goods and services for sale
  60. infrastructure
    basic facilities needed for the functioning of a country
  61. iron ore
    an ore from which iron can be extracted
  62. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  63. Islam
    the monotheistic religious system of Muslims
  64. ivory
    a hard smooth dentine of the tusks of elephants and walruses
  65. kingdom
    the domain ruled by a monarch
  66. leach
    cause a liquid to slowly seep or be drawn out
  67. lemur
    a small, large-eyed primate native to Madagascar
  68. livestock
    any animals kept for use or profit
  69. lowland
    low level country
  70. mahogany
    a reddish-brown wood commonly used to make furniture
  71. malaria
    a disease caused by parasites transmitted by mosquito bite
  72. migrate
    move from one country or region to another and settle there
  73. militia
    civilians trained as soldiers, not part of the regular army
  74. millet
    small seed of any of various annual cereal grasses especially Setaria italica
  75. mine
    excavation from which ores and minerals are extracted
  76. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  77. mining
    the act of extracting ores or coal from the earth
  78. missionary
    someone sent to a foreign country to spread a religion
  79. mountain gorilla
    gorilla of Kivu highlands
  80. Mount Kilimanjaro
    the highest peak in Africa
  81. national debt
    the debt of the national government
  82. natural gas
    a fossil fuel in the gaseous state
  83. natural resource
    material in the environment that can be used by people
  84. Nigeria
    a republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea
  85. Nile River
    the world's longest river
  86. nomad
    a member of a people who have no permanent home
  87. oasis
    a fertile tract in a desert
  88. oil palm
    pinnate-leaved palms of the genus Elaeis having dense clusters of crowded flowers and bright red fruit and yielding high quality palm oils
  89. palm oil
    oil from nuts of oil palms especially the African oil palm
  90. petroleum
    a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons
  91. Pharaoh
    the title of the ancient Egyptian kings
  92. pineapple
    large sweet fleshy tropical fruit with a terminal tuft of stiff leaves; widely cultivated
  93. plateau
    a relatively flat raised area of land
  94. poach
    hunt illegally
  95. pollution
    contamination of the natural environment
  96. population growth
    increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory or state
  97. poverty
    the state of having little or no money and possessions
  98. precipitation
    the falling to earth of any form of water
  99. rainforest
    a densely wooded tropical area with heavy precipitation
  100. rain shadow
    an area that has little precipitation because some barrier causes the winds to lose their moisture before reaching it
  101. raw material
    material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing
  102. reservoir
    lake used to store water for community use
  103. rhinoceros
    a large, heavy animal with thick skin and one or two horns on its nose
  104. rift
    a narrow fissure in rock
  105. Sahara Desert
    the world's largest desert in northern Africa
  106. sanitation
    making something sanitary (free of germs) as by sterilizing
  107. savanna
    a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions
  108. Serengeti
    a vast plain in Tanzania to the west of the Great Rift Valley known for its wildlife
  109. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
  110. slavery
    the practice or system of owning people as property
  111. sorghum
    economically important Old World tropical cereal grass
  112. South Africa
    a republic at the southernmost part of Africa
  113. stable
    resistant to change of position or condition
  114. staple
    a necessary commodity for which demand is constant
  115. state
    a politically organized body under a single government
  116. subsistence farming
    farming that provides for the basic needs of the farmer without surpluses for marketing
  117. trade
    the commercial exchange of goods and services
  118. transportation
    a facility for the movement of passengers or goods
  119. tributary
    a branch that flows into the main stream
  120. tribute
    payment by one nation for protection by another
  121. tropical
    relating to part of the Earth's surface with hot climate
  122. tsetse fly
    bloodsucking African fly; transmits sleeping sickness etc.
  123. veld
    elevated open grassland in southern Africa
  124. village
    a settlement smaller than a town
  125. volcano
    a fissure in the earth's crust through which gases erupt
  126. wadi
    a gully that remains dry except during the rainy season
  127. wildebeest
    large African antelope having a head with horns like an ox and a long tufted tail
  128. zebra
    a black-and-white striped animal related to a horse
Created on Fri Feb 17 16:18:59 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:47:15 EDT 2017)

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