Angola
[æŋˈɡəʊlə] proper noun, noun
Forms Angolas
- proper noun A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Angola. Capital and largest city: Luanda.
- proper noun (historical) A former colony of Portugal, Portuguese Angola, also known as Portuguese West Africa and officially the State of West Africa, from 1575 to 1975.
- proper noun The People's Republic of Angola, from 1975 to 1992.
- proper noun The Louisiana State Penitentiary.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Sussex County, Delaware, United States.
- proper noun A city, the county seat of Steuben County, Indiana, United States.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Labette County, Kansas, United States.
- proper noun A village in the town of Evans, Erie County, New York, United States.
- noun Synonym of angora (“type of cat”).
Synonyms
Etymology
From Portuguese (Reino de) Angola (“(kingdom of) Angola”), from Kimbundu ngola, title held by native kings at the time of the Portuguese colonization in the 15th century AD. Compare Kituba ngolo (“strength”).
First attested in c. 1595.
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is named "Angola" after the Angola slave plantation it replaced, which was named after the country, from which many enslaved people in Louisiana had been taken.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [A corruption of Angora.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Angola”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details