girafa

See also: Girafa, ĝirafa, and girafă

Catalan

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-der.?

Classical Persian زُرْنَا (zurnā)

Proto-Indo-European *ped-

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *pṓds

Proto-Indo-Iranian *pā́ts

Proto-Iranian *pā́dah

Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎭 (p-a-d)

Classical Persian پَا (pā)

Classical Persian زُرْنَاپَا (zurnāpā)bor.

Classical Syriac ܙܪܝܦܐ (zārīp̄ā)bor.

Arabic زُرَافَة (zurāfa)bor.

Italian giraffabor.

Middle French giraffe

French girafebor.

Catalan girafa

Borrowed from French girafe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ʒiˈɾa.fə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [d͡ʒiˈɾa.fa]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

Noun

girafa f (plural girafes)

1. giraffe
2. boom (microphone support)

Further reading

• “girafa”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Galician

Noun

girafa f (plural girafas, reintegrationist norm)

1. reintegrationist spelling of xirafa

Further reading

• “girafa”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2025

Portuguese

Girafa (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis)

Alternative forms

• giraffa (pre-standardization spelling, rare)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-der.?

Classical Persian زُرْنَا (zurnā)

Proto-Indo-European *ped-

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *pṓds

Proto-Indo-Iranian *pā́ts

Proto-Iranian *pā́dah

Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎭 (p-a-d)

Classical Persian پَا (pā)

Classical Persian زُرْنَاپَا (zurnāpā)bor.

Classical Syriac ܙܪܝܦܐ (zārīp̄ā)bor.

Arabic زُرَافَة (zurāfa)bor.

Italian giraffabor.

Portuguese girafa

Borrowed from Italian giraffa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒiˈɾa.fɐ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -afɐ
• Hyphenation: gi‧ra‧fa

Noun

girafa f (plural girafas)

1. giraffe (any animal of the genus Giraffa)

   Synonym: (archaic) camelopárdale

   • 1891, “Os elephantes [The elephants]” (chapter IV), in Eça de Queiroz, transl., As Minas de Salomão [The Mines of Solomon], Porto: Lugan & Genelioux, translation of King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard, page 58:

     O jantar estava prompto. Bem parco era elle, composto dos tutanos e lombos d’uma girafa, que n’essa tarde, ao fim da sésta, fôra morta pelo capitão John com um tiro providencial.

     [original: […] our dinner of giraffe steaks and roasted marrow bones was ready […] pausing at times to thank Good for his wonderful shot […]]

     The dinner was ready. Very scarce it was, consisting of the marrows and loins of a giraffe which, this afternoon, after the nap, had been killed by capitan John with a providential shot.

2. (by extension, rare) giraffid (any animal of the Giraffidae family)

   Synonym: girafídeo

3. (Brazil, figurative, colloquial) giraffe (very tall or long-necked individual)
4. (Brazil, film, television) boom (movable pole used to support a microphone or camera)

   Synonyms: bum, percha

5. (music) ellipsis of piano girafa (“giraffe piano”)

Usage notes

The gender of this Portuguese zoonym is always feminine: when the gender of the being itself must be specified, use “girafa-macho” for male, and “girafa-fêmea” for female. Here, macho is treated as an undeclinable noun and doesn't necessarily need to agree in gender with the referent, but would change to macha if so.

Related terms

• girafa-da-somália
• girafa-masai
• girafa-núbia
• girafa-reticulada
• girafa-sul-africana

Descendants

• → Hunsrik: Schiraff

References

• “girafa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “girafa”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “girafa”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “girafa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒiˈrafa/

Noun

girafa f

1. definite nominative singular of girafă