English Explanatory Dictionary

Abyssinia

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. Former name of Ethiopia: a country and former empire in East Africa; used as an exonym until the mid 20th century.
adj
  1. Ethiopian; Eritrean; Abyssinian.
intj
  1. Expression of farewell: I’ll be seeing ya.

Pronunciation

/ˌæ.bɪˈsɪ.nɪ.ə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Abyssinia.wav /ˌæ.bɪˈsɪ.ni.ə/ /ˌæ.bɪˈsɪn.jə/ /ˌæ.bəˈsɪ.ni.ə/ /ˌæ.bəˈsɪn.jə/

Word forms

Abyssinia Abissinia

Etymology

From Renaissance Latin Abyssīnī (“the Abyssinians”), from Arabic الْحَبَشَة (al-ḥabaša), from حَبَش (ḥabaš, “Abyssinian”). The humorous use of Abyssinia as a parting phrase is due to its phonetic resemblance to I'll be seeing ya.

Synonyms

Abassia

Derived words

Abyssinian
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