Afro

Dictionary: Af·ro (ăf'rō) pronunciation

n., pl. -ros.

A rounded, thick, tightly curled hair style.

adj.

African in style or origin.

[Probably short for AFRO-AMERICAN.]

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WordNet: Afro

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a rounded thickly curled hairdo

Wikipedia: Afro

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For the Italian painter known as "Afro", see Afro Basaldella. For the proposed African single currency, see Afro (currency).

Lauryn Hill wearing an Afro wig during a performance in Central Park. (2005)

An afro, sometimes called a "natural" or shortened to "fro", is a hairstyle in which the hair extends out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball. This may or may not include wearing such afros long, to several times the diameter of the head.

For many people of Black African descent, an afro is the way the hair grows naturally. Nevertheless, anyone with very curly hair is capable of growing an afro, such as Ashkenazi Jews with curly hair who may sport a "Jewfro". For people of Black African descent, the spiraling, tightly coiled curls (sometimes referred to as natural afro-hair) can be straightened out somewhat, giving the hair added volume and length, by first braiding the hair, then separating the coils using an "afro pick". The afro pick is an adaptation of a traditional African grooming instrument,^[1] which is essentially a narrow comb with long, widely spaced teeth.

History

A woman with an afro at the Tribeca Film Festival. (2007)

A white afro, the most uncommon afro color

In the 1860s a style similar to the Afro was worn by the Circassian beauties, sometimes known as "Moss-haired girls", exhibited in sideshow attractions in the United States by P.T. Barnum and others. These women were claimed to be from the Circassian people in the Northern Caucasus region, and were marketed to white audiences captivated by the "exotic East.".^[2]^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Afro

Look up Afro in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

^ Example of a traditional African comb
^ Linda Frost, Never one nation: freaks, savages, and whiteness in U.S. popular culture, 1850-1877, University of Minnesota Press, 2005, p.68-88
^ The Circassian beauty archive A collection of historic Images - Circassian Beauties

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Translations: Afro

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - afrofrisure, afrohår
adj. - afro-

Nederlands (Dutch)
afro-kapsel, afro

Français (French)
n. - coiffure afro, africanisation
adj. - afro (une coiffure), afro-(américain), afro-(asiatique)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Afro-Look
adj. - im Afro-Look

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (χτένισμα) άφρο-λουκ
adj. - (χτένισμα) άφρο-λουκ, Αφρικανός

Italiano (Italian)
afro, acconciatura crespa e ricciuta

Português (Portuguese)
n. - afro (m)
adj. - afro

Русский (Russian)
африканский стиль прически

Español (Spanish)
n. - pelo crespo, peinado afro
adj. - de Africa, tipo de pelo, estilo de peinado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - afrofrisyr
adj. - afro-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
圆蓬式发型, 圆蓬式的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 圓蓬式髮型
adj. - 圓蓬式的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 아프리카 흑인식 헤어스타일
adj. - 아프로 헤어스타일의, 아메리카 흑인의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - アフロ, アフリカの黒人, アフロヘア
adj. - アフロスタイルの, アフリカの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أفريقي (صفه) نوع ألشعر ألأجعد ألكثيف ألطويل مثل شعر ألزنوج‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תסרוקת מקורזלת‬
adj. - ‮אפריקני‬

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		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Afro". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

Afro

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References