negus
1 Americannoun
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neguses
plural
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a title of Ethiopian royalty.
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(initial capital letter) the Emperor of Ethiopia.
noun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of negus1
1585–95; < Amharic nəgus king < Geez, participle of nägŝä to reign
Origin of negus2
1735–45; after Colonel Francis Negus (died 1732), Englishman who invented it
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:
“Oh, it is no trouble; I dare say your own hands are almost numbed with cold. Leah, make a little hot negus and cut a sandwich or two: here are the keys of the storeroom.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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Whist, tea, dancing, negus, and blind-hookey—delighted to see you—walk in'; and so, da capo, only varying the ritual when a lord or a baronet necessitated a change of title.
From Jack Hinton The Guardsman by Charles James Lever
Each province is governed by a ras, or prince, but Ras Michael, the governor of Wollo and father of the deposed negus, Lij Yasu, was crowned king on 1st June, 1914.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 A to Amide by Various
"Come away and have some negus on the stairs," he said.
From Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope
Wegen returned to his friend, after having assumed dry clothes; he began to feel comfortable once more over a glass of negus and a cigar.
From Withered Leaves. Vol. II. (of III) A Novel by Rudolf von Gottschall
The film score composer Patrick Doyle, whose work ranges from Henry V to Thor, and opera conductor Anthony Negus are both made CBEs.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
“Even when we saw the writing credit which said ‛N. Diamond,’ we thought it was a Jamaican artist called Negus Diamond,” Astro recalled.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2021
David Negus, who represented him at the trial, said in a 1996 declaration on Cooper’s behalf that his performance in the case was “negatively affected” by his stress and exhaustion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2018
The work’s conductor, Anthony Negus, makes it a shattering success.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2015
I made an excursion into Abyssinia, in order to see the Negus, who owed me two hundred thousand francs.
From French and Oriental Love in a Harem by Paul Avril
Fowls, tongues, preserves, fruits, confectionaries, jellies, neguses, barley-sugar temples, trifles, crackers—eat all you can and pocket what you like—all at Old Cheeseman's expense.
From Some Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens
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.