Ethiopian
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to Ethiopia or to its inhabitants.
-
belonging to the part of Africa south of the equator.
-
Zoogeography. belonging to a geographical division comprising Africa south of the tropic of Cancer, the southern part of Arabia, and Madagascar.
-
Archaic. Black African.
noun
-
Ethiopians
plural
-
a native of Ethiopia.
-
a member of any of various supposedly dark-skinned peoples regarded by the ancients as coming from a country lying south of Egypt.
-
Archaic. a Black African.
adjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of Ethiopia, its people, or any of their languages
-
of or denoting a zoogeographical region consisting of Africa south of the Sahara
-
obsolete anthropol of or belonging to a postulated racial group characterized by dark skin, an oval elongated face, and thin lips, living chiefly in Africa south of the Sahara
noun
-
a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia
-
any of the languages of Ethiopia, esp Amharic
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Ethiopian
First recorded in 1545–55; Ethiopi(a) + -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ayana had an Eritrean mother and an Ethiopian father who fled the war between their two countries and were admitted to the United States.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Bringing together groups with contending understandings of the Ethiopian state, for the first time ever, itself has been a successful exercise," said Alamrew Yirdaw, a participant from the Amhara region.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
The Ethiopian authorities' 2019 report suggested the pilots followed steps to disengage the system, but even after manually trying to steady the plane, the system pushed the nose down until the aircraft crashed.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Amanuel told AFP that he wants to form alliances with anyone fighting the Ethiopian federal government, but gave no further details.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The men were dressed in expensive dashikis, and the women wore long classical Ethiopian gowns.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
![]()
The victims, aged between 7 and 46, were mostly Iraqi Kurds, but also included Afghans, Ethiopians and Egyptians.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
DHS first announced it was ending TPS for Ethiopians in December, under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, saying conditions in Ethiopia were safe.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
A video of the unlikely couple, recorded by a nurse at Denbecha Primary Hospital in the Amhara region, racked up 770,000 views on TikTok, with many Ethiopians struck by Markos' compassion.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Ahmed, though, is facing growing domestic pressure to reduce the steep prices Ethiopians pay for imports, from food to fuel, which principally come via ports in Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
However, it is not yet known whether Ethiopians were cultivating these local plants before or only after the arrival of the Southwest Asian package.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.