Habesha peoples
The modern term derives from Semitic languages: , first written in unvowelled script as ; ; . The earliest known use of the term dates to the second or third century Sabaean inscription recounting the defeat of the nəgus ("king") GDRT of Aksum and ḤBŠT. The early Semitic term appears to refer to a group of peoples, rather than a specific ethnicity.