Are there any words in Amharic or Ge'ez that have a basis in Latin?

by SamuraiRake

Just wondering, seeing as there was a pretty long period of Roman and Aksum contact, in some culture was exchanged (Christianity, most prominently), was there any linguistic exchange?

Commustar

Well, off the top of my head, the name Gelawdewos (a 16th century emperor) is a rendering of Claudius.

There are also numerous names that have their basis in greek. For example, the names Tewophilos (theophilus), Tewodros (theodoros) and Fasilides (after st Basilides).

In some ways, the influence of Greek makes a lot more sense than Latin influence. Yes, Aksum was christianized starting around 330 AD, but that does not really imply a latin influence. Christian Aksum/Ethiopia were part of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and Alexandria (along with much of the Eastern Roman Empire) maintained a hellenized character.

Even after the islamic conquest of Egypt in the mid-seventh century, Ethiopia maintained church relations with Alexandria. Ethiopia didn't begin to have contact with Roman Catholicism until the arrival of Portuguese explorers and Jesuits in the 16th century.