European

Sayyuur-uh-PEE-uhnUS/ˌjʊɚ.əˈpi.ən/UK/(ˌ)jʊə.ɹəˈpiː.ən/

6 meanings of European

1
of Europeadjective
Connected with Europe, its people, or its countries.
The museum displays art from several European nations.
European wildlife includes species found nowhere else in the world.
UsageWritten with a capital E, and a European country (not ~~incorrect: an European~~), since it begins with a "you" sound.
2
EUadjective
Relating to the European Union or matters concerning its member states.
European law takes precedence over the national laws of member states.
European regulations apply directly in every member state without any new national law.
3
person from Europenouncountable
A person who lives in Europe or comes from there; in European Union contexts, a citizen of an EU country.
Europeans have settled on every other continent over the centuries.
As a European, she felt at home traveling across the region.
4
white (race)adjective
Especially in colonial and other official racial classifications: white; of white ethnicity or descent, wherever born.
Under segregation, those classified as European used separate facilities.
Under the colony's segregation laws, a white child born there was still classed as European, while Asian and African residents were listed in separate groups.
Similarwhite, Caucasian
Note
A racial label rather than a geographic one: in colonial writing it separates settlers of white ancestry from the other groups living beside them. Harriet W. Daly, writing of the Northern Territory in 1887, sets the European ladies of the settlement against their Chinese servants. "European Australian" furniture makers were Australians classed by descent. In colonial texts, the context shows when it means ancestry rather than birthplace.

Less common meanings

5
nounUKcountablebritish
Someone who favors closer political and economic links among European countries, particularly by way of the European Union.
As a committed European, the minister argued that Britain's future lay inside the single market.
The Europeans on the back benches threatened to rebel over the treaty vote.
UsageOften a committed European or a convinced European; pro-European says the same more plainly.
SimilarEurophile
OppositeEuroskeptic
Note
British political talk uses it for a stance rather than a birthplace: a committed or convinced European wants Britain bound closely to the rest of the continent, which has nothing to do with being someone from Europe. An adjective of conviction in front, or talk of treaties and the single market nearby, signals the political meaning.
6
adjective
Of a financial option that can be exercised only on its expiration date, not beforehand.

Practice

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Origin

Ancient Greek Εὐρωπαῖος (Eurōpaîos, "European") is the ultimate source; it passed through Latin europaeus to French Européen, which English borrowed. On its face, the word is simply Europe plus the suffix -an.