Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

biafran

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.17 in modern English

Syllables: bi-afran
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, from or relating to Biafra.

adj

Extremely skinny.

Derogatory

noun

A native or inhabitant of Biafra.

Example Sentences

""He looked Biafran, he looked HIV-positive," Suzanne said, "Contrary to what the doctors were worried about, I believe those kids were keeping him alive.""
"She was truly skinny now and in this defenseless. She had surpassed fashionable and veered into unhealth. She looked Biafran; her eyes seemed to bulge out of her head."
"You want food? You look Biafran."

Etymology

From Biafra + -an. The "skinny" sense is in reference to the images of extremely skinny Biafran refugees from the Nigerian Civil War that appeared plentifully in English-language media in the 1960s and 1970s.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: Biafra

Usage

Derogatory

Inflected Forms

more Biafran (comparative) most Biafran (superlative) Biafrans (plural)

Questions

What does biafran mean?: Of, from or relating to Biafra.
Where does biafran come from?: From Biafra + -an. The "skinny" sense is in reference to the images of extremely skinny Biafran refugees from the Nigerian Civil War that appeared plentifully in English-language media in the 1960s and 1970s.

How to pronounce biafran

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