people of the upper Niger region of West Africa, 1620s.

people and language of West Africa (Ghana and surrounding regions), 1690s, a native name.

capital of Australia, 1826, from Aborigine nganbirra "meeting place."

respectful or reverential form of address in East Africa, 1875, from Swahili.

1860, "act of converting (assets) to capital," noun of action from capitalize in the financial sense. The meaning "act of writing or printing in capital letters" is recorded from 1847, from the writing sense.

also c.p.u., by 1970, abbreviation of central processing unit.

"African," 1580s, from Latin Africus (see Africa). Also sometimes used as a noun.

North Korean capital, from Korean p'yong "flat" + yang "land."

Nepalese capital, from Nepalese Kathmandu, from kath "wooden" + mandu "temple."

also Meso-America, cultural or economic region comprising central and southern Mexico and northern Central America, by 1948, from Spanish Mesoamérica (by 1943); see meso- "middle" + America. Related: Mesoamerican.