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Ἀζανία. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Ἀζανία, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Ἀζανία in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Ἀζανία you have here. The definition of the word
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Ancient Greek
Etymology 1
Possibly from Ζάν (Zán, “Zeus”) — Doric + -ία (-ía).
Proper noun
Ἀζανία • (Azanía) f (indeclinable)
- (historical) a subregion of Arcadia.
Etymology 2
Two possibilities: 1. Related to Somali san (“nose”), referring to the Horn of Africa; (Cushitic languages like Somali have been spoken there for many thousands of years). 2. Related to Arabic عَجَمِيّ (ʕajamiyy, “foreign, barbarian”). The Greeks likely remoulded whichever word to a familiar form (Etymology 1). Probably not related to Ζήγγισα.
Proper noun
Ἀζανία • (Azanía) f (indeclinable)
- (historical) The region of East Africa as known by the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
References
"AZANIA, SOME ETYMOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS", John Hilton, Acta Classica, vol.35