Cameroon

Meanings

1. A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Cameroon. Capital: Yaoundé. It also claims Ambazonia.

1. A sheep of a domesticated breed from West Africa.

1. A Conservative Party member with green or social liberal leanings, supporting the policies of David Cameron.

Etymology

Borrowed from French Cameroun, from Portuguese Rio dos Camarões (“river of prawns”), a name given to the Wouri river estuary, in 1472 by the sailors of the Portuguese explorer Fernão do Pó (a.k.a. Fernando Pó), raving about the abundance of shrimps of the species Lepidophthalmus turneranus (the Cameroon ghost shrimp) in the river; camarão itself is from Latin cammarus (“lobster”), from Ancient Greek κάμμαρος (kámmaros, “a kind of lobster or shrimp”).