Ethiopian
Americanadjective
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of or relating to Ethiopia or to its inhabitants.
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belonging to the part of Africa south of the equator.
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Zoogeography. belonging to a geographical division comprising Africa south of the tropic of Cancer, the southern part of Arabia, and Madagascar.
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Archaic. Black African.
noun
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a native of Ethiopia.
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a member of any of various supposedly dark-skinned peoples regarded by the ancients as coming from a country lying south of Egypt.
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Archaic. a Black African.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of Ethiopia, its people, or any of their languages
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of or denoting a zoogeographical region consisting of Africa south of the Sahara
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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
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a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia
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any of the languages of Ethiopia, esp Amharic
noun
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
Tenagne Belachew, chef at Lalibela, an Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax Avenue, holds a traditional Ethiopian coffeepot.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
The Ethiopian won the marathon with a new event record of 2:13:37.
From BBC • May 3, 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
Fortunately for us, the Ethiopian army would not cross a crocodile-infested river.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
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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.