ውክፔዲያ ውይይት:«ኢትዮጵያ እጆችዋን ወደ እግዚአብሔር ትዘረጋለች» (መዝሙር 67፡31) - የትዋ ኢትዮጵያ?

My google search found that the author seems to have published this previously in "Yemuslimoch guday" online magazine, but I think it would take a lot of work to change this into a balanced article... some of the scholarship seems good, but some seems to push pov, for example that the name Ethiopia came from Greek words meaning 'burnt face'. I have been unable to find this folk etymology in any source before the 19th century, and I challenge anyone to find the earliest source claiming that this is the etymology. The Ancient Greek sources themselves state that Ethiopia took its name from an individual who was called Aethiops. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:01, 2 ዲሴምበር 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have just done some in-depth research and answered my own challenge.

Previously, the earliest source I could find for "Ethiopia < aitho ops, burnt face" had been G.H. Liddell (1843), whereas the earliest source I could find for "Ethiopia < Ethiops, a person's name" was Pliny (77 AD),

After doing some digging, I can now state that the 'burnt face' hypothesis was apparently first proposed by Jacob Salianus ca. 1600 in Tome I of his Annales. This is according to a Spanish priest by the name of Francisco Colin (1592-1660), in his book "Sacra India" which includes a lengthy chapter on Ethiopia. He mentions Salianus' opinion as one tentative hypothesis for the source of the name. The 'burnt face' derivation next appears in works by German authors Christopher von Waldenfels (1677) and Johannes Minellius (1683). All of these authors are so obscure that there is not even a wikipedia article for any of them.

It should be stressed that before 1600, the only etymology that can be found in print is the one given by Pliny, ie. that it was named for Aethiops, the son of Haephestus or Vulcan. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 03:48, 20 ዲሴምበር 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I'm glad you were able to to uncover some important information regarding the etymology. I can tell you were somewhat frustrated regarding this issue. Are you going to discuss this information with the English Wikipedia? Elfalem 04:39, 20 ዲሴምበር 2010 (UTC)[reply]