Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Ge'ez

Ge'ez

9.9
An old Ethiopian language used today for church services
  • noun
  • /ɡeɪˈɛz/
  • Literature
translation icon : ge'ez
  • Scholars study Ge'ez to better understand Ethiopia's rich historical texts.
  • Ge'ez language

Examples

  • Above the horse, there is an inscription written in the Ethiopian classical language Ge'ez.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Like Tifinagh, the GE'EZ script—also known as Ethiopic—has been in continuous use for more than two millennia.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Ge'ez is the liturgical language used in Ge'ez Orthodox Church services.

  • Many ancient manuscripts are written in Ge'ez, the classical language of Ethiopia.

Synonyms

Ethiopic
vsGe'ez
  • Literature
9.9

An old language called Ge'ez that is used for church services in Ethiopia

emphasizes that it is now used only for church liturgy

Surface Forms

Ge'ez singular
Ge'ezes plural

Etymology

Ge'ez comes from the name of the people who spoke the language long ago in the area now called Ethiopia, so you can remember it as 'the language of the Ge'ez people'. Today Ge'ez is not used for everyday talk but lives on as the church language, which is why many old Ethiopian religious books and prayers are written in Ge'ez.