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.

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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

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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

Etymology

Origin of Ethiopian

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

Example Sentences

Jet fuel for air forces, too, has become a scarce resource, with the government under pressure to keep stocks for the national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, an engine of the economy and Africa’s largest airline.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Jet fuel for air forces, too, has become a scarce resource, with the government under pressure to keep stocks for the national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, an engine of the economy and Africa’s largest airline.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Smoke’N Ash blends Texas barbecue with Ethiopian flavors, and the result is something special.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

Convoys of Ethiopian military trucks have been moving into positions along Tigray’s mountainous borders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

The rock musician known as Kenna grew up in Virginia Beach, the child of Ethiopian immigrants.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell