Ethiopian

//ˌiː.θiˈəʊ.pɪ.ən// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person from Ethiopia or of Ethiopian descent.

    "Ahmed was also appreciated for his talents as a showman, because he had no equal in letting loose the famous eskista, with the heaving quiver of the torso and shoulders, of which Ethiopians are so fond. Eskista is the dance of the Amharas, enhancing amorous repartee and expressing collective jubilation."

  2. 2
    a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia wordnet
  3. 3
    A black-skinned person, especially one from Africa. dated

    "The Ethiopian eunuch."

  4. 4
    A very skinny person, referencing the historic malnutrition and poverty in Ethiopia. derogatory, slang
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of, from, or pertaining to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian people or the Ethiopian culture.

    "One of Ethiopia's most popular traditional dances, eskista, which is said to have originated from the lower highlands of Ethiopia's Amhara region, exemplifies the type of multi-functionality that Martin (1967) acknowledges as it is performed in many different settings of the Ethiopian community."

  2. 2
    Of, from, or pertaining to Africa and the African diaspora. dated, not-comparable

    "Any person of color recognized his Ethiopian heritage immediately. That nose, those lips, good hair or no."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to or characteristic of Ethiopia or its people or languages wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
amharicethiopicethiopic

Example

More examples

"My nephew is from Ethiopia. He is Ethiopian."

Etymology

From Ethiopia + -an.

Related phrases

Ethiopian CatholicEthiopian eggplantEthiopian in the woodpileEthiopian nightshade

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.