Negus is a noun derived from the EthiopianSemitic rootngś, meaning "to reign". The title Negus literally translated to Basileus (Greek: βασιλεύς) in Ancient Greek, which was seen many times on Aksumite currency. The title has subsequently been used to translate the word "king" or "emperor" in Biblical and other literature. In more recent times, it was used as an honorific title bestowed on governors of the most important provinces (kingdoms): Gojjam, Begemder, Wello, Tigray and the seaward kingdom, (where the variation Bahri Negasi (Sea King), was the title of the ruler of present-day central Eritrea). The military title "Meridazmatch" was initially used by the rulers of Shewa until the reign of Sahle Selassie, when he and his successors adopted the royal title as well.[3][4]
Etymologyedit
Sometime during the development of the Ethio-Semitic language family "m-l-k," the original triconsonantal root for king, was elevated to the generic word for "god" in the form of the broken plural "ʾämlak/ʔamlāk." During this time period the semitic term for a ruler or lord, n-g-s, began to mean "king." In an ancient Aramaic inscription mentioning the god ʿAṯtar his name is followed by the title 𐡍𐡂𐡔 (ngš), corresponding to Ancient North Arabian𐪌𐪔𐪆 (ngś), meaning "the ruler."[5]
In popular cultureedit
In the 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee, contestant Andrew Lay was required to spell the word "negus", which elicited a surprised response from the audience and led to a popular video snippet online.
Kendrick Lamar's 2015 song "I" references the word and draws comparisons to the "N-word" and the "negus" spelling bee video snippet.
^Haile Selassie, Western Education, and Political Revolution in Ethiopia. Cambria Press. ISBN9781621969143.
^Negus. Amharic nəgus, from Geez nĕgūša nagašt king of kings. First Known Use: 1594 Merriam Webster dictionary
^Mussie Tesfagiorgis G. Ph.D. (29 October 2010). Eritrea. ABC-CLIO. pp. 34–35. ISBN978-1-59884-232-6.
^Alemseged Abbay (1998). Identity Jilted, Or, Re-imagining Identity?: The Divergent Paths of the Eritrean and Tigrayan Nationalist Struggles. The Red Sea Press. p. 202. ISBN978-1-56902-072-2.
negus, other, uses, disambiguation, ንጉሥ, nəgueś, nɨgueɬ, amharic, ነጋሲ, negus, negus, word, king, ethiopian, semitic, languages, title, which, usually, bestowed, upon, regional, ruler, nagast, king, kings, 1974, ethiopia, negus, referred, najashi, النجاشي, isla. For other uses see Negus disambiguation Negus Ge ez ንጉሥ negues nɨgueɬ cf Amharic ነጋሲ negus negus is the word for king in the Ethiopian Semitic languages and a title 1 which was usually bestowed upon a regional ruler by the Negusa Nagast or king of kings 2 in pre 1974 Ethiopia The negus is referred to as Al Najashi النجاشي in the Islamic tradition Negus Tekle Haymanot king of Gojjam Contents 1 History 2 Etymology 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory editMain article Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles Negus is a noun derived from the Ethiopian Semitic root ngs meaning to reign The title Negus literally translated to Basileus Greek basileys in Ancient Greek which was seen many times on Aksumite currency The title has subsequently been used to translate the word king or emperor in Biblical and other literature In more recent times it was used as an honorific title bestowed on governors of the most important provinces kingdoms Gojjam Begemder Wello Tigray and the seaward kingdom where the variation Bahri Negasi Sea King was the title of the ruler of present day central Eritrea The military title Meridazmatch was initially used by the rulers of Shewa until the reign of Sahle Selassie when he and his successors adopted the royal title as well 3 4 Etymology editSometime during the development of the Ethio Semitic language family m l k the original triconsonantal root for king was elevated to the generic word for god in the form of the broken plural ʾamlak ʔamlak During this time period the semitic term for a ruler or lord n g s began to mean king In an ancient Aramaic inscription mentioning the god ʿAṯtar his name is followed by the title 𐡍𐡂𐡔 ngs corresponding to Ancient North Arabian 𐪌𐪔𐪆 ngs meaning the ruler 5 In popular culture editIn the 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant Andrew Lay was required to spell the word negus which elicited a surprised response from the audience and led to a popular video snippet online Kendrick Lamar s 2015 song I references the word and draws comparisons to the N word and the negus spelling bee video snippet See also editEmperor of Ethiopia Kebra NagastReferences edit Haile Selassie Western Education and Political Revolution in Ethiopia Cambria Press ISBN 9781621969143 Negus Amharic negus from Geez nĕgusa nagast king of kings First Known Use 1594 Merriam Webster dictionary Mussie Tesfagiorgis G Ph D 29 October 2010 Eritrea ABC CLIO pp 34 35 ISBN 978 1 59884 232 6 Alemseged Abbay 1998 Identity Jilted Or Re imagining Identity The Divergent Paths of the Eritrean and Tigrayan Nationalist Struggles The Red Sea Press p 202 ISBN 978 1 56902 072 2 Lipinski Edward 2000 The Aramaeans Their Ancient History Culture Religion Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta Vol 100 Leuven Belgium Peeters Publishers ISBN 978 9 042 90859 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Negus amp oldid 1197150080, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
