Kush
/kʊʃ/noun
An ancient region in Nubia, south of Egypt, and the name of several historical kingdoms there.
Did you know?Kush was the name used in ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, and Greek sources for the Nubian kingdom that at times ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, the so-called “Black Pharaohs.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Egyptian
Egyptian
kꜣš
“The land south of Egypt, Nubia/Kush”
Biblical era
Hebrew
כּוּשׁ (Kūš)
“A region and people associated with Kush/Nubia”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Αἰθιοπία / Κοῦς
“Greek renderings referring to the region and its people”
1st Millennium BCE
Nubian
Kush
“The Nubian kingdom centered in the Nile valley”
Modern English
English
Kush
“The historical name of the ancient Nubian kingdom and region”