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Ethiopian

American  
[ee-thee-oh-pee-uhn] / ˌi θiˈoʊ pi ən /

adjective

  1. of or relating to Ethiopia or to its inhabitants.

  2. belonging to the part of Africa south of the equator.

  3. Zoogeography. belonging to a geographical division comprising Africa south of the tropic of Cancer, the southern part of Arabia, and Madagascar.

  4. Archaic. Black African.


noun

Ethiopians plural
  1. a native of Ethiopia.

  2. a member of any of various supposedly dark-skinned peoples regarded by the ancients as coming from a country lying south of Egypt.

  3. Archaic. a Black African.

Ethiopian British  
/ ˌiːθɪˈəʊpɪən /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Ethiopia, its people, or any of their languages

  2. of or denoting a zoogeographical region consisting of Africa south of the Sahara

  3. 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia

  2. any of the languages of Ethiopia, esp Amharic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an archaic word for Black

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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:

Tigray borders Eritrea and during the war, its troops were allied with Ethiopian government forces.

From BBC Jun. 21, 2026

An unnamed Ethiopian assistant professor was selected by ICM for its Midwife Leaders Executive Sponsorship Programme, but was rejected for having an "inadequate financial bank statement and an unreliable purpose of travel", the organisers said.

From Barron's Jun. 12, 2026

Walking distance from Como Park is one of three locations of Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine, named after the neighborhood where its owners were born and raised.

From Salon Jun. 11, 2026

Get to know the Inglewood food scene before or after World Cup games at SoFi Stadium, including outposts for Somali, Ethiopian and Jamaican cuisine, soul food, casual cafes and Sonora-style tacos.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 11, 2026

Many of the drivers outside the train station were Ethiopian or Punjabi.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

The GERD, whose construction began in 2011, was financed through taxes and loans from Ethiopians.

From Barron's Feb. 3, 2026

It cautioned Ethiopians, particularly the youth, against the dangers of human trafficking driven by false promises.

From BBC Jan. 6, 2026

Tens of thousands of vibrantly dressed Ethiopians descended on downtown Addis Ababa for an annual thanksgiving festival this weekend.

From BBC Oct. 6, 2025

North American Plains Indians, South American Araucanian Indians, New Zealand’s Maoris, and Ethiopians acquired guns and used them to hold off European conquest for a long time, though they were ultimately defeated.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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