Biafran

See also: biafran

English

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.

Adjective

Biafran (comparative more Biafran, superlative most Biafran)

1. Of, from or relating to Biafra.
2. (derogatory) Extremely skinny.
   • 2006, Stephen P. Kiernan, Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System:

     "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."

   • 2007, Wendy Rawlings, The Agnostics, page 111:

     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.

   • 2010, 1:42:08 from the start, in Animal Kingdom:

     You want food? You look Biafran.

Translations

of, from or relating to Biafra

• Norwegian:

  Nynorsk: biafransk

• Portuguese: biafrense

Noun

Biafran (plural Biafrans)

1. A native or inhabitant of Biafra.

Translations

a person from Biafra

• French: Biafrais (fr) m
• Norwegian:

  Nynorsk: biafranar m

• Portuguese: biafrense m or f