Habesha

plural Habeshas · alternative Habeshah

1. a member of a Semitic-speaking ethnic group, of Christian faith, between the Blue Nile and the Red Sea (whether Amhara, Tigrayan or Tigrinya)

   Some of these people became known as the Habesha. Abyssinia – an ancient name for Ethiopia that is still sometimes used – is thought to have evolved from the name Habesha.

   1988, Dennis B. Fradin, Ethiopia page 21

   1 more example

   Portugal, the first power to circumnavigate Africa and enter the Indian Ocean, displayed primary interest in this potential ally of the West and sent a representative to Ethiopia in 1493; the Habesha, in turn, sent an envoy to Portugal in 1509 to request a coordinated attack on the Muslims.

   1981, American University (Washington, D.C.), Foreign Area Studies; Harold D. Nelson, Irving Kaplan (editors), Ethiopia, a Country Study page 15

alternative Habeshah

1. the region of Ethiopia and Eritrea, particularly as inhabited by Semitic-speaking Christians
2. the country of Ethiopia

   Ethiopia ኢትዮጵያ / Habesha አበሻ. The outside world has at times referred to Ethiopia and Ethiopians as Habesha or Abyssinia and Abyssinians.

   1998, Negussay Ayele, Wit and Wisdom of Ethiopia page 124