Ethiopia
/ˌiː.θiˈoʊ.pi.ə/noun
A country in the Horn of Africa; historically, a name used by Greeks and Romans for lands south of Egypt.
Did you know?The name comes from Greek Aithiops, and ancient Greek writers used it broadly for dark-skinned peoples and southern lands, long before it became the modern nation’s name.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Aithiops
“A term for a dark-skinned person, especially from lands south of Egypt”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Aithiopia
“The land of the Aithiopes, a vague southern region beyond Egypt”
Classical Latin
Latin
Aethiopia
“A geographic and ethnographic name for lands in northeast Africa”
Late Antiquity
Greek/Latin
Aithiopia / Aethiopia
“A more fixed name for the region associated with the kingdom south of Egypt”
Modern English
English
Ethiopia
“The modern country in the Horn of Africa”