Dark Continent

English

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Dark Continent

Where it comes from

A Victorian nickname, referring to the fact that little was known in the West about the interior of the continent.

proper noun the Dark Continent

  1. dated, informal, offensive, sometimes Africa. De Lesseps, the engineer, has been visiting the Bey of Tunis, and trying to get his consent to the scheme for piercing the isthmus of Zaber, and opening up communication with the interior of the Dark Continent by water.

Translations

Every language

name Africa

日本語暗黒大陸 ankoku tairiku
Françaiscontinent noir
DeutschSchwarzer Kontinent
РусскийЧёрный континент Čórnyj kontinent

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MLA

"Dark Continent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dark%20continent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Dark Continent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dark%20continent

Chicago

"Dark Continent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dark%20continent.

BibTeX
@misc{dark_continent_2026,
  title = {Dark Continent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dark%20continent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}