Ge'ez language
Another etymology is that the first two syllables come from the Ge'ez language "baggi`" for sheep (Amharic: "beg medir") "Land of Sheep". Beckingham and Huntingford note that Begemder originally applied to the country east of Lake Tana, where water is scarce, and conclude, "The allusion to the lack of water suggests Amharic "baga", "dry season", as a possible source of the name."