What is an American?

A·mer·i·can

  [uh-mer-i-kuhn]  Show IPA

adjective

1.

of or pertaining to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen.

2.

of or pertaining to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere: the American continents.

3.

of or pertaining to the aboriginal Indians of North and South America, usually excluding the Eskimos,regarded as being of Asian ancestry and marked generally by reddish to brownish skin, black hair,dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones.

noun

4.

a citizen of the United States of America.

5.

a native or inhabitant of the Western Hemisphere.

6.

an Indian of North or South America.

7.

American English.

8.

a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear 

truck.

This definition came from dictionary.com, and it formally defines American. I agree with the second definition. I think American can mean a variety of things, but to me, it means someone that inhabits the land of America. That includes North and South America. I think everyone in these continents can be considered American, technically. Within that name, there are more cultures and societies that name themselves different, depending where they live. For example, someone from Canada is Canadian. But in a more broad perspective, they are American too. No matter where someone lives, as long as its North or South America, they are considered American because they share the land that was named "America".

But if you really narrow it down, the inhabitants of the United States of America are called Americans because United Statesan sounds odd. But I could be wrong. So I guess American is our "name tag" to others, since our country is the United States of America and we live in North America. 

"American | Define American at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com - Free Online English Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/american?s=t>.