abuna

Definition

The Patriarch, or head of the Abyssinian Church.

Etymology

From Amharic አቡነ (ʾäbunä), Arabic أَبُونَا (ʔabūnā, “our father”).

Example Sentences

• "Around these leaders are still numerous hereditary dynasties of non-monastic clergy who, over the centuries, might swarm in their thousands to seek ordination on the abun’s rare visits to their area."