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Gha·na (gänə)
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1. A medieval African kingdom in what is now eastern Senegal, southwest Mali, and southern Mauritania. It was founded probably in the 8th century AD and prospered because of its location astride the trans-Saharan caravan routes. The kingdom declined after the 11th century.
2. A country of western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea. It was inhabited in precolonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms, including an inland Ashanti kingdom and various Fante states along the coast. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 1400s, and the British established a crown colony, Gold Coast, in 1874. Ghana became independent in 1957. Accra is the capital and the largest city.

Ghana·ian (gänə-yən, gə-nāən), Ghani·an (gänē-ən) adj. & n.
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Ghana

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.