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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

  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

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.

Several years ago, Aireon sent its data to air-safety authorities to help with the crash of Boeing’s 737 MAX jet during Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which killed 157.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

The suit was brought by relatives of Samya Stumo, who died in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, the second of two MAX calamities that together claimed 346 lives.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

Tenagne Belachew, chef at Lalibela, an Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax Avenue, holds a traditional Ethiopian coffeepot.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Alene, who is Ethiopian, had a cultural gown and asked Nones if he would take a photo of her wearing it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

When Hugh was in the fifth grade, his class took a field trip to an Ethiopian slaughterhouse.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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