Meanings
alternative archaic Abissinia
- datednot comparableEthiopian; Eritrean; Abyssinian.
alternative archaic Abissinia
- datedhumorousExpression of farewell: I’ll be seeing ya.First known use First attested in the early 20ᵗʰ century.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounFormer name of Ethiopia: a country and former empire in East Africa; used as an exonym until the mid 20th century.
Origin
- Arabicالْحَبَشَة
- Renaissance LatinAbyssīnī“the Abyssinians”
- EnglishAbyssinia
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.
More words from Renaissance Latin, Arabic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic الْحَبَشَة
- الْحَبَشَة (al-ḥabaša)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Bulgarian Абиси́ния
- Абиси́ния (Abisínija)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Catalan Abissínia
- Abissíniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Chinese Mandarin 阿比西尼亞 /阿比西尼亚
- 阿比西尼亞 /阿比西尼亚 (Ābǐxīníyà)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Czech Habeš
- Habešhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Danish Abessinien
- Abessinienhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Dutch Abessinië
- Abessiniëhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Finnish Abessinia
- Abessiniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
French Abyssinie
- Abyssiniehistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
German Abessinien, Habesch
- Abessinienhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
- Habeschhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Greek Αβησσυνία
- Αβησσυνία (Avissynía)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Hebrew חבש
- חבשhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Hindi हबश, हबस
- हबश (habaś)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
- हबस (habas)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Hungarian Abesszínia
- Abesszíniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Irish An Aibisín
- An Aibisínhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Japanese アビシニア
- アビシニア (Abishinia)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Korean 아비시니아
- 아비시니아 (Abisinia)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Malay but see Habsyah
- but see Habsyahhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Norwegian Bokmål Abessinia
- Abessiniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Persian حبشه
- حبشه (habaše)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Polish Abisynia
- Abisyniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Portuguese Abissínia
- Abissíniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Romanian Abisinia
- Abisiniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Russian Абисси́ния
- Абисси́ния (Abissínija)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Spanish Abisinia
- Abisiniahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Swedish Abessinien
- Abessinienhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Tagalog Abisinya
- Abisinyahistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Turkish Habeşistan
- Habeşistanhistorical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Ukrainian Абіссі́нія
- Абіссі́нія (Abissínija)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Urdu حبش
- حبش (habaś)historical exonym of Ethiopia, used until the mid 20th century
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Abyssinia
All rhymes →Cite this entry
Abyssinia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abyssinia
“Abyssinia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abyssinia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Abyssinia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abyssinia.
Source: Abyssinia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.