Beja
/ˈbeɪ.dʒə/noun
A member of a Cushitic-speaking people of northeastern Africa, or the language they speak.
Did you know?Ancient writers called a related people the Blemmyes and repeated the bizarre legend that they had faces on their chests, probably reflecting sensational geography rather than reality.
Etymological Timeline
Late Antiquity
Greek
Blemmyes
“The name used by Greek writers for a people associated with the eastern Egyptian and Nubian deserts; later linked historically with the Beja.”
Late Antiquity
Latin
Blemmyae
“Latin form of the Greek ethnonym Blemmyes.”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
al-Buja
“An Arabic designation associated with the Beja people and their region.”
19th Century
English
Beja
“English ethnonym for the Cushitic-speaking people of northeastern Africa.”
Modern English
English
Beja
“The people, language, or cultural group known as Beja.”