Negus
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of negus (“Ethiopian ruler”). alt-of, alternative
- 2 A drink made of wine, often port, mixed with hot water, oranges or lemons, spices and sugar. countable, uncountable
"And when he got home he had a glass of hot negus in his wife's sitting-room, and read the last number of the “Little Dorrit” of the day with great inward satisfaction."
- 3 A ruler of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), or of a province of Ethiopia; specifically, the king of Ethiopia before 1974. historical
"Sir, the Negus of Ethiopia is here in person; and this is the day of our death, doe what you can to saue your selfe, for my part I meane here to die"
- 4 wine and hot water with sugar and lemon juice and nutmeg wordnet
- 1 An English surname of unknown derivation.
Example
More examples"And when he got home he had a glass of hot negus in his wife's sitting-room, and read the last number of the “Little Dorrit” of the day with great inward satisfaction."
Etymology
Named from Colonel Francis Negus (died 1732), its creator.
1590s, borrowed from Amharic ንጉሥ (nəguś, “king, ruler”), itself a loan from Ge'ez ንጉሥ (nəguś, “king, ruler”), from the verb ነግሠ (nägśä, “rule”).
Related phrases
More for "negus"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.