Ethiopian

[ee-thee-oh-pee-uhn]

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

/ 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

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia

2. any of the languages of Ethiopia, esp Amharic

noun

1. an archaic word for Black

Other Word Forms

• anti-Ethiopian adjective
• pro-Ethiopian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ethiopian¹

First recorded in 1545–55; Ethiopi(a) + -an

Example Sentences

BBC Amharic has contacted the Ethiopian foreign ministry to confirm the authenticity of the letter, but it has not yet responded.

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

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The 38-year-old Ethiopian national was jailed for 12 months on Tuesday.

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The song is deeply rooted in Ethiopian culture and captures the spirit of the new year.

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The vastness of the building site was at first overwhelming for the young Ethiopian mechanical engineer.

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