Afer

See also: afer and afër

Latin

Etymology

The term is derived from a Punic term for the country in which the city of Carthage was located. It is possibly derived from an ethnonym, a name of an indigenous tribe encountered by the Phoenician colonists, or perhaps related to Punic [script needed] (`afar, “dust”) akin to Biblical Hebrew עָפָר 'dust', or alternatively from a Berber language افري (`ifri, “cave”), denoting cave dwellers. Flavius Josephus derived the ethnonym from the name of Abraham's grandson, Epher. The name is perhaps related to the tribal name Ifran recorded by medieval Arab authors.

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈaː.fer/, [ˈaː.fɛr]

Adjective

Āfer (feminine Āfra, neuter Āfrum); first/second declension

  1. from Africa (the region of modern-day Tunisia)

Declension

First/second declension, nominative masculine singular in -er.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
nominative Āfer Āfra Āfrum Āfrī Āfrae Āfra
genitive Āfrī Āfrae Āfrī Āfrōrum Āfrārum Āfrōrum
dative Āfrō Āfrō Āfrīs
accusative Āfrum Āfram Āfrum Āfrōs Āfrās Āfra
ablative Āfrō Āfrā Āfrō Āfrīs
vocative Āfer Āfra Āfrum Āfrī Āfrae Āfra

Proper noun

Āfer m (genitive Āfrī); second declension

  1. (Roman Republic) a Carthaginian
  2. (Roman Empire) cognomen applied to a native of the province of Africa:
    1. Publius Terentius Afer, a Roman playwright

Declension

Second declension, nominative singular in -er.

Case Singular Plural
nominative Āfer Āfrī
genitive Āfrī Āfrōrum
dative Āfrō Āfrīs
accusative Āfrum Āfrōs
ablative Āfrō Āfrīs
vocative Āfer1 Āfrī

1May also be Āfre.

Derived terms

References

  • Afer in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Afer in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Afer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
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