Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dark continent

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.03 in modern English

Syllables: dark- -con-ti-nent
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

5

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Dated; Informal; Offensive

Example Sentences

"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."
"Africa is still the Dark Continent, the land of the unknown, the remarkable."

Etymology

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

Usage

Inflected Forms

the Dark Continent (canonical)

Questions

What does dark continent mean?: Africa.
Where does dark continent come from?: A Victorian nickname, referring to the fact that little was known in the West about the interior of the continent.

How to pronounce dark continent

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dark continent”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “dark continent” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.