Dark Continent

English Etymology A Victorian nickname, referring to the fact that little was known in the West about the interior of the continent. Proper noun Dark Continent 1 en informal dated sometimes offensive Africa. en 12 March 1879 The Sydney Morning Herald 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. en 10 November 1903 The Advertiser Adelaide Africa is still the Dark Continent, the land of the unknown, the remarkable. Translations Africa Finnish: fi musta maanosa French: fr continent noir m German: de Schwarzer Kontinent m Japanese: ja 暗黒大陸 ankoku tairiku Russian: ru Чёрный континент m References