American, when used as an adjective, can mean "of the United States of America" or "of or relating to the Americas"; when used as a noun, "United States citizen", "residing in the Americas", or less frequently "American English". Immigrants to the United States are usually called first-generation Americans, regardless of their citizenship status, and their children second-generation Americans. The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... American English or U.S. English is the diverse form of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ...

As many people from the various nations throughout the New World consider themselves to be “Americans”, some think the common usage of American to refer to only people from the United States should be avoided in international contexts where it might cause confusion. Some find the use of American to refer to the United States only offensive, as tending to disregard the existence of other American nations. Some in Latin America may consider it an insult if it is suggested that they are somehow less worthy of being called American than residents of the USA. In Canada, however, American tends to refer to citizens of the United States only. Referring to a Canadian citizen as American is usually considered to be an insult. In some contexts, one would specify North American, Central American, or South American when the reference is to a continent or region. Other residents of the Americas do not feel such a broad sense of identity and think of themselves as citizens of their particular country, members of an ethnic group, or belonging to some other sub-continental entity. Many alternative neologisms to American have been proposed to refer to the United States, but they have failed to garner widespread acceptance. See Alternative words for American for more information. The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. ... An insult is a statement or action which affronts or demeans someone. ... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... An insult is a statement or action which affronts or demeans someone. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnicity An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... In linguistics, a neologism is a recently coined word, or the act of inventing a word or phrase. ... There have been a number of attempts to coin an alternative to American as an adjective (a demonym) for United States nationals. ...

While the use of American to refer to people and places elsewhere in the Americas was once fairly common in the United States, this use has declined in recent generations, to the point that many are uncomfortable with this usage.

English speakers most commonly use American to refer to the United States only; the same is true of cognates of the word in many other languages, such as the German Amerikaner, the French Américain(e), the Greek Αμερικανός (Amerikanos) and so on. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ...

In Spanish, American tends to refer to any resident of the Americas and not necessarily the United States; English spoken in Latin America often makes this distinction as well. In Spanish, the normal term for U.S. citizens is estadounidense (literally United-Statesian). In the Iberoamerican countries, the use of americano (literally, "American") to describe a U.S. citizen could be considered culturally aggressive, because the word in Spanish habitually includes the inhabitants of the entire New World. In Portuguese, both in Portugal and Brazil, the term estadunidense is growing and it is considered more appropriate than the common term norte-americano (literally "North American"), as from a geographic view North America includes Mexico and Canada in addition to the United States. This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... Iberoamerica is a term used to refer the group of countries in the Americas that were colonies of Spain and Portugal. ... Portuguese (português) is a Romance language predominantly spoken in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and East Timor. ... The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered to the north by the United States of America, to the southeast by Guatemala and Belize, to... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ...

Other uses

The American race is an obsolete 19th-century racial classification referring to the various peoples now called Native Americans, also historically called the "red" race, although that latter term is generally considered derogatory. ( 18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) The 19th century lasted from 1801 to 1900 in the Gregorian calendar (using the Common Era system of year numbering). ... This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ...

The term American is also used to identify a type of railroad steam locomotive. In the Whyte notation, an 'American' locomotive is a type 4-4-0. This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... Great Western Railway No. ... The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early 20th century. ... Atlantic, Mississippi, & Ohio Railroad #87, delivered 1873-10-27 from the Mason Machine Works of Taunton, Massachusetts. ...

See also

• Alternative words for American
• American (automobile)
• American Airlines
• Ancestries of Americans
• The Americas
• Central America
• Culture of the United States
• Hyphenated American
• Latin America
• Native Americans
• North America
• Organization of American States
• South America
• United States