Falasha
Americannoun
-
Falashas,
plural
-
Falasha
plural
noun
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:
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
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
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
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
According to Bruce's abstract of the Abyssinian chronicles, the royal line was superseded in the 10th century by Falasha Jews, then by other Christian families, and three centuries of weakness and disorder succeeded.
From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Henry Yule
Prior to the present airlift, the typical method of escape was for couriers, financed mainly by private American Jewish organizations, to smuggle Falashas into Israel in small groups.
From Time Magazine Archive
As a sign of good faith in the matter, a Sudanese official last week got in touch with the refugee commission in Geneva to discuss its possible role in evacuating the Falashas.
From Time Magazine Archive
But Prime Minister Shimon Peres persuaded the parties to drop the motions by arguing that they would only bring more attention to the Falashas.
From Time Magazine Archive
That left hundreds of Ethiopian Jews, known as Falashas, stranded in Sudan after making the long trek to refugee camps there.
From Time Magazine Archive
Falashas, inhabitants of Amhara, in Abyssinia, who claim descent from Jewish emigrants during the reign of Jereboam.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various
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.
