Eritrea

/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹ(e)ɪə/

/ˌɪɹɪˈtɹ(e)ɪə/

/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹi.ə/

/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹeɪə/

/ˌɪɹɪˈtɹeɪə/

Borrowed from Italian (l')Eritrea, first used in Italian as an ellipsis of la Colonia eritrea (“Italian Eritrea”, literally “the Erythraean colony”), from eritrea, feminine of eritreo (“Erythraean (of or relating to the Erythraean Sea)”), from Latin erythraeus (“reddish”), from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós, “red”).

A country in East Africa, on the Red Sea. Capital: Asmara.

The modern State of Eritrea (since the 1990s).

(historical) A former province of or in union with Ethiopia.

(historical, from 1890) A former colony of Italy.


Eritrean

From Eritrea + -an (suffix forming adjectives).

affix

A native or inhabitant of Eritrea, or a descendant of such person.

Eritreër

A person from Eritrea or of Eritrean descent


Abyssinia

From New Latin Abissīni, of Abissīnus (“Abyssinian, Ethiopian”), 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.

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

አቢሲንያ

historical name of the Ethiopian Empire - Ethiopia and Eritrea

ብሔረ አግዓዝ

bəḥerä ʾägʿaz


tej

Borrowed from Amharic ጠጅ (ṭäǧ, “honey wine, mead”).

bor+

She smells the mingling odors of sweat and tej inside the hot room.

2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 42:

Amharic for “honey wine,” tej is an Ethiopian drink that kings, queens, and other royals have enjoyed for thousands of years.[…]¶ Tej is an ancient, fermented spirit mostly made from raw honey, water, and wild yeast.[…]¶ They toasted each other with the tej she brought.

2024 January 10, Lenore Adkins, “Ethiopian Honey Wine Gets the Royal Treatment at Negus Winery and Meadery in Alexandria”, in Eater DC, archived from the original on 2024-03-03:

A type of honey wine or mead from Ethiopia and Eritrea typically served in a specialized glass vessel known as a berele.


nakfa

From Tigrinya ናቕፋ (naḳʰfa, “Nakfa, Eritrea”).

The currency of Eritrea, divided into 100 cents.


tallero

From Italian tallero, from German Thaler (“dollar”).

The monetary unit of Eritrea from 1890 to 1921, equal to 5 lire.


Red Sea

From Middle English Red See, Reede See, Rede See, reade sea, from Old English Rēad Sǣ, a calque of Latin Mare Rubrum, itself a calque of Ancient Greek Ἐρυθρᾱ̀ θάλασσα (Eruthrā̀ thálassa); equivalent to red + sea.

der

Ἐρυθρᾱ̀ θάλασσα

A long, narrow sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula; links the Suez Canal with the Arabian Sea.

ባሕረ ቈልዝም

baḥrä ḳʷälzəm


Bab el Mandeb

From Arabic بَاب اَلْمَنْدَب (bāb al-mandab), meaning "Gateway (Bab) of anguish", or "Gateway of tears"; the strait derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation, or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by the earthquake which separated Asia and Africa.

bor

بَاب اَلْمَنْدَب

a strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden


Medri Bahri

(historical) An Eritrean kingdom that existed from the 15th century until the 19th century.


shemma

From around the age of ten, they begin to be taught “important” things like holding a hand (of the corner of the cloth they cover their bodies with, then shemma) before the mouth and turn aside from people if they sneeze, …

1995, Reidulf Knut Molvaer, Socialization and Social Control in Ethiopia (Äthiopistische Forschungen; 44), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 77:

The shemma is draped over the head and shoulders in a graceful fashion and sometimes held by the wearer over nose and mouth.

2000, Ethiopian Costumes, Ethiopian Tourism Commission, page 11:

In some central and northern areas, women's traditional clothes are often made from cloth called shemma.

2024 November 25, Wikipedia contributors, “Culture of Ethiopia”, in English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation:

A traditional Ethiopian or Eritrean handwoven cotton cloth that holds cultural, social, and religious significance.