Page "American (word)" Paragraph 3

The word can be used as both a noun and an adjective.

In adjectival use, it is generally understood to mean " of or relating to the United States "; for example, " Elvis Presley was an American singer " or " the American President gave a speech today ".

In noun form, it generally means U. S. citizen or national ( see Names for U. S. citizens ).

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 ".