Talk:zebra

Etymology

There seems to be some dispute over the validity of the OED derivation from the Congolese word for the animal (possibly meaning striped) (via Old Portugese zevra). I imagine the early Portugese explorers in the 1400s pointing at the animal and asking "what is that?", and the Bantu speakers replying "striped". I suspect that the OED had some evidence, but it doesn't sound sure, and others question its claim, so we could really benefit from another authority to cite. Does anyone know the old Kongo or Amharic word for striped, or what other languages have their roots in zebra country? Dbfirs 13:37, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Amharic will be a particple of መተልተል (mätältäl, “to make stripes”) or ተለተለ (tälätälä, “to make stripes”). A zebra is የሜዳ አህያ (yämeda ahya, “field ass”).

BTW, in Modern Swahili, zebra is punda milia (“striped ass”) < mialamu (“stripe”), mlia (“stripe”), mwalamu (“stripe”). —Stephen 17:52, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the research. I was hoping for an old word, sounding like zebra or zevra, that has come down from one of the old Bantu dialects, but I suppose the OED researchers would have quoted it if they had found one. Perhaps the OED was just repeating a myth, but they are normally reliable for British English. Dbfirs 22:34, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Note that since the above discussion, the OED has revised its etymology completely, accepting *eciferus and abandoning the unsupportable idea of an African origin. --Hiztegilari (talk) 09:47, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

Other usage

I was wondering if we should also add a vulgar slang def. for "zebra," namely, the term as popularized on the television series "The Jeffersons." The definition I would propose is similar to the "nigger" definition: "A bi-racial person; someone born to parents of two different races, one a Negro and a Caucasian." Its usage on "The Jeffersons" came from the show's main protagonist, George Jefferson, who directed this term at his son's girlfriend (and later, his daughter-in-law), Jenny Willis Jefferson, a character whose mother was black and father was white. Sourcing should not be a problem, since DVDs have been published for "The Jeffersons" where the term is used (the term is also used on at least one "All in the Family" episode). Let me know what you think. [[Briguy52748 13:52, 7 December 2009 (UTC)]]

To satisfy our criteria for inclusion, you will want three independent, durably-archived usages spanning at least a year. The Jeffersons and All in the Family could provide two. Feel free to use Citations:zebra to collect them. ~ Röbin Liönheart (talk) 02:49, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

David Attenborough

David Attenborough is perhaps the only living Englishman to still say ‘zeebra’ instead of ‘zebbra’. I did notice this old-fashioned pronunciation being used by the English actress Doris Lloyd in S4E8 of ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ though (entitled ‘Safety For The Witness’ and first broadcast in 1958 - though unnamed in the IMDb credits, the gun shop customer she plays is called ‘Mrs Corbyn’ funnily enough). Overlordnat1 (talk) 03:16, 28 September 2023 (UTC)