Haile Selassie

4 8.4

Emperor of Ethiopia who made modern reforms and is admired by Rastafarians

proper noun
/ˈhaɪli səˈlæsɪ/

: Haile Selassie

The reign of Haile Selassie marked significant modernization reforms in Ethiopia.

Examples

Many Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie as the returned messiah of the Bible.
Haile Selassie addressed the League of Nations to condemn the Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
Emperor Haile Selassie is regarded as a key figure in Ethiopian history.
Did Haile Selassie really unite the Ethiopian tribes?
Haile Selassie addressed the League of Nations to condemn the Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
Many Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie as the returned messiah of the Bible.
The reign of Haile Selassie marked significant modernization reforms in Ethiopia.

Synonyms

Ras Tafari

vsHaile Selassie

2 9.9

A name of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia that many Rastafarians see as a savior

is the widely used personal name for that historical emperor

Surface Forms

Haile Selassie main

Morphology

Haile + Selassie

This is a proper name made of two name elements that do not have transparent, compositional meanings for an average B1 learner, so knowing the constituents ('Haile' and 'Selassie') does not allow one to infer the referent 'Emperor of Ethiopia' or his significance. Any etymological meanings in Amharic are unlikely to be known by learners, and the expression is referential/arbitrary rather than predictable from its parts.

Etymology

Haile Selassie was the emperor of Ethiopia who tried to make his country more modern and who spoke out to the world about injustice and invasion. Many people, especially Rastafarians, came to see him as a kind of 'messiah', so his name now refers both to the historic Ethiopian ruler and to a religious figure in that movement.