Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Used formerly as a title for emperors of Ethiopia.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun historical A ruler of Ethiopia or of a province of Ethiopia; specifically, the supreme ruler of Ethiopia before 1974.
  • proper noun An English surname of unknown derivation

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Amharic nəgus, from Ge'ez nəguś, king, ruler, verbal adjective of nagśa, to rule, become king; see ngś in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Amharic ንጉሥ (n’gus, "king").

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