The meaning of the word American in the English language varies according to the historical, geographical, and political context in which it is used. English speakers this usage is almost universal, with any other use of the american breakfast meals requiring specification. Elvis Presley was an American singer” or “the man prefers American English”.

Compound constructions which indicate a minority ethnic group, such as “African-Americans” likewise refer exclusively to people in or from the United States of America, as does the prefix “Americo-“. These specific terms may be less common than the term American. United States, but may also refer to “the Americas”. Note that in normal parlance, the adjective “American” and its direct cognates are usually used if the context renders the nationality of the person clear.

The respective guidelines of the foreign ministries of Austria, Germany and Switzerland all prescribe Amerikaner and amerikanisch in reference to the United States for official usage, making no mention of U. For referring specifically to a U. Spanish equivalent, apply to Canadians and Mexicans as well. United States, but this term can also denote people and things from Canada and Mexico. Among Spanish-speakers, North America generally doesn’t include Central America or the Caribbean. In other languages, however, there is no possibility for confusion. For example, the Chinese word for “U.

Conversely, in Czech, there is no possibility for disambiguation. The usage is exactly parallel to the English word. America is named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Italian explorer who mapped South America’s east coast and the Caribbean Sea in the early 16th century. In the 16th century, European usage of American denoted the native inhabitants of the New World.

In English, American was used especially for people in British America. Samuel Johnson, the leading English lexicographer, wrote in 1775, before the United States declared independence: “That the Americans are able to bear taxation is indubitable. In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight, and in the Third Year of the independence of America. The medicine of time and fact may cure some of them. United States of America” and “the United States of North America” derive from “the United Colonies of America” and “the United Colonies of North America”.

President George Washington, in his 1796 Farewell Address, declaimed that “The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation. Virginians, South Carolinians, New Yorkers, etc. By defining himself as an American rather than as a Virginian, Washington set the national standard for all citizens. As the historian Garry Wills has noted: “This was a theme dear to Washington. This semantic divergence among North American anglophones, however, remained largely unknown in the Spanish-American colonies. The Latter-day Saints’ Articles of Faith refer to the American continents as where they are to build Zion. Common short forms and abbreviations are the United States, the U.

Use of the term American for U. United Nations, and financial markets in the United States are referred to as “American financial markets”. American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States, is a recognized territorial name at the United Nations. The use of American as a national demonym for U. North America, it normally applies to the inhabitants of the United States. Because of anti-American sentiment or simply national pride, Canadians never apply the term American to themselves. Americas and that which pertains to the U.