negus

Meaning

Noun

• A drink made of wine, often port, mixed with hot water, oranges or lemons, spices and sugar.
• A ruler of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), or of a province of Ethiopia; specifically, the king of Ethiopia before 1974.

Origin

• Named from Colonel Francis Negus (died 1732), its creator.
• 1590s, borrowed from Amharic ንጉሥ ("king, ruler"), itself a loan from Ge'ez ንጉሥ ("king, ruler"), from the verb ነግሠ.