Abyssinia

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From New Latin Abissīni,[1] of Abissīnus (“Abyssinian, Ethiopian”), from Arabic الْحَبَشَة (al-ḥabaša), from حَبَش (ḥabaš, “Abyssinian”).[2] The humorous use of Abyssinia as a parting phrase is due to its phonetic resemblance to I'll be seeing ya.

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌæb.ɪˈsɪn.i.ə/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌæb.ɪˈsɪn.i.ə/, /ˌæb.əˈsɪn.i.ə/, /ˌæb.əˈsɪn.jə/
  • Rhymes: -ɪniə
  • Rhymes: -ɪnjə

Proper noun

Abyssinia

  1. (historical) The Ethiopian Empire, a former empire in East Africa, consisting of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Translations
historical name of the Ethiopian Empire - Ethiopia and Eritrea

Further reading

Adjective

Abyssinia (not comparable)

  1. (dated) Ethiopian; Eritrean; Abyssinian.[3]

Interjection

Abyssinia

  1. (humorous) Expression of farewell: I’ll be seeing ya. [First attested in the mid 20th century.][4]

References
  1. “Abyssin, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  2. William Morris, editor (1969 (1971 printing)), “Abyssinia”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New York, N.Y.: American Heritage Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 6.
  3. Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 9
  4. Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “Abyssinia”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 11.
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