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Senegal

Pronunciation: /ˌsɛnɪˈgɔːl/

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Definition of Senegal

a country on the coast of West Africa; population 13,711,600 (est. 2009); languages, French (official), Wolof, and other West African languages; capital, Dakar.

Part of the Mali empire in the 14th and 15th centuries, the area was colonized by the French and became part of French West Africa in 1895. Briefly a partner in the Federation of Mali (1959), Senegal withdrew and became a fully independent republic in 1960. Gambia forms an enclave within Senegal