rhebok

English

Alternative forms

• reebok, rhebuck
• rehboc, rheeboc (archaic, given as alternative forms in Webster 1913)

Etymology

Earlier rabock, reebok, rhebuck, rheeboc, raybuck, rehboc, borrowed from Afrikaans reebok (“rhebok”), ribbok (“rhebok”), from Dutch reebok (“roebuck”), compound of ree +‎ bok, from Middle Dutch reeboc. Unetymological h present since 1775 though the spelling and pronunciation has varied greatly over the years. Doublet of roebuck.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiː.bɒk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiː.bɑk/
• (General South African) IPA^(key): /ˈriː.bɔk/

Noun

A rhebok

rhebok (plural rheboks)

1. A medium-sized, deerlike South African antelope, Pelea capreolus, having pale-gray, curly fur and straight horns.
   • 2011, Rajend Mesthrie, Eish, But is it English?‎^[1], Penguin Random House South Africa, →ISBN:

     There are also a whole lot of compounds that use 'bok': rhebok, bontebok, blesbok, gemsbok, rietbok, grysbok, bloubok ...

   • 2011, Christopher Upward and George Davidson, The History of English Spelling‎^[2], Wiley, →ISBN, page 274:

     The name of the South African antelope, the rhebok, derives from Dutch reebok, and can be written reebok.

   • 2013, Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Thomas Butynski, Michael Hoffmann, Meredith Happold, and Jan Kalina, Mammals of Africa: Volumes I-VI‎^[3], Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 417:

     The pronunciation and spelling over the years have changed through roe, rabock, reebok, raybuck to rhebok in English and 'ribbok' in Afrikaans (Skead 1980).

Synonyms

• grey rhebok, grey rhebuck
• peele (obsolete)

Translations

Pelea capreolus

• Afrikaans: vaalribbok (af)
• Dutch: reebokantilope (nl)
• Finnish: kaurisantilooppi (fi), vuohiantilooppi
• Italian: antilope capriolo f
• Swedish: råbocksantilop c
• Zulu: inxala

References

• “rhebok”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “rhebok”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “rhebok”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “rhebok”, in Dictionary of South African English, Makhanda, Eastern Cape: Dictionary Unit for South African English, 1996–2026.