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Falasha

American  
[fah-lah-shuh, fuh-] / fɑˈlɑ ʃə, fə- /

noun

  • Falashas,
    plural
  • Falasha
    plural
  1. Disparaging and Offensive. Beta Israel.


Falasha British  
/ fəˈlæʃə /

noun

  1. a member of a tribe of Black Ethiopian Jews

"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

Sensitive Note

The derogatory name Falasha refers to a community of Ethiopian Jews or to a member of this community, most of whom now live in Israel. The Amharic word falasha means "outsider, exile," and this name was given to the Ethiopian Jews by other Ethiopians. The community refers to itself as Beta Israel.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of Falasha

First recorded in 1710–15; from Amharic fälasha “immigrant, exile, stranger,” from fälash, active participle of fälläsä “to migrate”

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:

A major setback to the program is the fact that Falasha refugees in Sudan have blended into the anonymity of the camps and are sharing in the tragic fate of their other occupants.

From Time Magazine Archive

Foreign Minister Hashem Osman called in Arab, African and Asian diplomats to charge that Ethiopia had been "closing its eyes" to the Falasha exodus in return for weapons and money from Israel.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nimeiri's offer to allow the evacuation of Falasha refugees to nations other than Israel did not draw any immediate criticism from fellow members of the Arab League.

From Time Magazine Archive

That obviously opened the door to Falasha rescue operations organized by Western governments, perhaps with the eventual goal of quietly resettling the Falashas in Israel.

From Time Magazine Archive

Jasu, was one of the three Falasha converts who carried on the work of the mission during the imprisonment of the missionaries in Abyssinia.

From Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by B.D.

That was when Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef decreed that the Falashas are "undoubtedly of the tribe of Dan," the inhabitants of the biblical land of Havileh in what is today the southern Arabian Peninsula.

From Time Magazine Archive

That obviously opened the door to Falasha rescue operations organized by Western governments, perhaps with the eventual goal of quietly resettling the Falashas in Israel.

From Time Magazine Archive

That left several thousand Falashas still in Sudan, many with relatives already in Israel.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Ethiopians, sometimes known as Falashas, have observed biblical Jewish traditions for centuries and are deeply hurt by the order.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among the inhabitants are numbers of Mahommedans, and there is a settlement of Falashas.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various

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