What is "american"

American \A*mer"i*can\ ([.a]*m[~e]r"[i^]*kan), a. [Named from Americus Vespucius.]

1. Of or pertaining to America; as, the American continent: American Indians.

2. Of or pertaining to the United States. ``A young officer of the American navy.''
   --Lyell.

   American ivy. See Virginia creeper.

   American Party (U. S. Politics), a party, about 1854, which opposed the influence of foreign-born citizens, and those supposed to owe allegiance to a foreign power.

   Native american Party (U. S. Politics), a party of principles similar to those of the American party. It arose about 1843, but soon died out.

American \A*mer"i*can\ ([.a]*m[~e]r"[i^]*kan), n. A native of America; -- originally applied to the aboriginal inhabitants, but now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America, and especially to the citizens of the United States.

The name American must always exalt the pride of patriotism.
--Washington.

1570s (n.); 1590s (adj.), from Modern Latin Americanus, from America (q.v.); originally in reference to what now are called Native Americans; the sense of "resident of North America of European (originally British) descent" is first recorded 1640s (adj.); 1765 (n.).

a. 1 Of or pertaining to the Americas. More often this is specified as either "North American" or "South American." 2 Of, from, or pertaining to the United States of America, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture%20of%20the%20United%20States. n. 1 An indigenous inhabitant of the Americas; an American Indian. (Now chiefly with qualifying word.) (from 16th c.) 2 An inhabitant of the Americas. More often this is specified as either ''North American'', ''Central American'' or ''South American.'' 3 Originally, a native or inhabitant of the British North American colonies of European descent; now, a person born in, or a citizen or inhabitant of, the United States of America. (from 17th c.) 4 (context uncountable US printing rare dated) A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type. n. The English language as spoken in the USA; American English.

The meaning of the word American in the English language varies according to the historical, geographical, and political context in which it is used. American is derived from America, a term originally denoting all of the New World (also called the Americas). In some expressions, it retains this Pan-American sense, but its usage has evolved over time and, for various historical reasons, the word came to denote people or things specifically from the United States of America.

In modern English, Americans generally refers to someone or something related to the United States of America; among native English speakers this usage is almost universal, with any other use of the term requiring specification. However, this usage is seen by some as a semantic " misappropriation" by those who argue that "American" should be widened in English to also include people or things from anywhere in the Americas. Similar semantic contention exists concerning English words like "Spanish", "British", "Scandinavian", etc.

The word can be used as either an adjective or a noun (viz. a demonym). In adjectival use, it means "of or relating to the United States"; for example, " Elvis Presley was an American singer" or "the man prefers American English". In its noun form, the word generally means a resident or citizen of the US, or occasionally someone whose ethnic identity is simply "American". The noun is rarely used in American English to refer to people not connected to the United States. When used with a grammatical qualifier, the adjective American can mean "of or relating to the Americas", as in Latin American or Indigenous American. Less frequently, the adjective can take this meaning without a qualifier, as in " American Spanish dialects and pronunciation differ by country", or the name of the Organization of American States. A third use of the term pertains specifically to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, for instance, "In the 16th century, many Americans died from imported diseases during the European conquest".

The American was an American automobile designed by Frank Duryea and manufactured by the American Automobile Company of New York City in 1899 to 1901. It was a " hydro-carbon carriage" which could be started from the seat by its chain-and-sprocket gearing.

The American was made by American Cyclecar Co of Detroit, Michigan in 1914. It had a 4-cylinder engine of 1.2 liters, and featured a friction transmission and chain drive. The headlights were inserted into the fenders, a feature later associated with the Pierce-Arrow.

The make was superseded by the Trumbull.

American(s) may refer to:

• American, an adjective for something of, from, or related to the United States
  • Americans, citizens of the United States
  • Native Americans, indigenous peoples of the United States
  • Ethnic Americans, an ethnic group native to North America descended from predominately British settlers
  • American English
• American, an adjective for something of, from, or related to the Americas
  • Indigenous peoples of the Americas
• American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts

The American, often nicknamed as the American Gas, was a small gasoline-powered buggy manufactured by the American Motor Carriage Company in Cleveland from 1902 to 1903, and sold until early 1904. It was one of nearly two dozen American automobile marques to bear this name.

The company evolved in August 1901 from an interior decorating studio. Its president was George F. McKay, with F.D. Dorman as vice president and general manager, J.F. Morris acting as secretary-treasurer and George H. Wadsworth as superintendent.

The car was developed by chief engineer George W. Dunham. It was a light (1000 lb) two-passenger runabout with a water-cooled, single-cylinder engine fitted under the seat, a planetary transmission and a single chain to the rear axle. The wheel base was . The most outstanding item of the vehicle was its wheel-steering device. A 7-gallon fuel tank was fitted, which would give a driving range of about . As usual at the time, the car was right-hand driven. Minimalistic coachwork included a small compartment in front. The car came painted in "French carmine", with the running gear in "Valentine red", and the seat bench trimmed in black leather. The car's initial price was $1000, and the company came never close to the targeted capacity of 200 cars per year.

In September 1903, the company came under receivership management by the Prudential Trust Company. Dunham became general manager, looking to assemble as many cars as possible from parts ready. These were sold for $750 until April 1904, when a new company named American Automobile Company moved in. They never produced a car.

Press noted that the American Motor Carriage Company was the first automobile manufacturer in Cleveland that failed. This is not true, but it was the most important by then.

The American was an American automobile, built in Plainfield, New Jersey, manufactured from 1917 to 1924. The company also used names American Balanced Six or American Six, "Balanced" referred to its chassis, not the engine. It was an assembled car, one of many built in its time, and it used components from several manufacturers like Borg & Beck for clutch, Warner transmission, Stromberg carburetor and Rutenber engines.

The company was never large; its peak production was 1400 vehicles built in 1920. In that same year a powerful 58 hp Herschell-Spillman six-cylinder engine replaced old 45 hp Rutenber six. American was commonly advertised as a 'Smile Car' because the company believed their cars offered trouble-free miles for their owners. In 1923 the company became associated with the Bessemer Truck Corporation; that October, the company became Amalgamated Motors, incorporating Northway and Winther as well. Before spring of 1924 American car was out of production. The total number of cars produced was about 6000 cars.

For a brief time, famed racing driver and future automobile designer Louis Chevrolet worked as a vice-president and the head of American's engineering department.

Founded in Kansas CIty, Missouri in 1908, the American Automobile Manufacturing Company acquired the Jonz Automobile Company of Beatrice, Nebraska in 1910 with a planned initial capitalization of $1,000,000. In early news releases, the company claimed "$100,000 of the stock has been subscribed for by Chicago and Kansas City men". Initial plans called for the establishment of factories in Kansas City and Louisville, Kentucky.

The company settled on moving its offices to Louisville, Kentucky in December, 1910, and began manufacturing in an abandoned woolen mill across the Ohio River from Louisville in New Albany, Indiana. The factory buildings were two and three stories in height, located on a six-acre tract on Vincennes Street in New Albany. The factory was reported in 1914 to be "one of the very largest factories in the state of Indiana... and is equipped with machinery, tools, raw materials, parts and accessories for the manufacture of motor cars."

Promising huge potential profits, the company sold stock using catalogs, pamphlets and an extensive magazine and newspaper ad campaign reaching as far as Great Britain. The company did produce a limited number of cars which were marketed as the Jonz, named after the "Jonz Tranquil Motor" developed by the three Jones brothers in Kansas. The American Automobile Manufacturing Company built the two-stroke engine "American" from 1911 - 1912 in New Albany.

American Automobile Corporation went bankrupt, and Ferdinand N. Kahler purchased its assets, forming the Ohio Falls Motor Company, largely to protect the assets of his woodworking business, The Kahler Company.