zebra
English[edit]

Etymology[edit]
1600; borrowed from Italian zebra, from Portuguese zebra, zebro (“zebra”), from Old Portuguese enzebro, ezebra, azebra (“wild ass”), from earlier cebrario (882), ezebrario (897), from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin equiferus (“wild horse”) (Pliny), from equus (“horse”) + ferus (“wild”).
(biracial person): The term zebra, as used in its pejorative sense, was popularized on the television situation comedy The Jeffersons. The term was used by the series protagonist, George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley), to express disdain for his daughter-in-law, Jenny Willis Jefferson, whose father was white and mother was black.
While the word was traditionally pronounced with a long initial vowel in standard English, during the twentieth century a vowel shift occurred in regions of England, with the adoption of an initial short vowel.[1] This pronunciation is now used throughout the UK and most Commonwealth nations. The long vowel pronunciation remains standard in Canadian and American English.
(referee): In reference to the black and white striped shirts they wear.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK, Commonwealth) IPA(key): /ˈzɛbɹə/, /ˈziːbɹə/
Audio (UK) (file) - Hyphenation: zeb‧ra
- (Canadian, US and traditional British English) IPA(key): /ˈziːbɹə/
Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: ze‧bra
- Rhymes: (UK, Commonwealth) -ɛbɹə, -iːbɹə
Noun[edit]
zebra (plural zebra or zebras)
- Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: E. grevyi, E. quagga, or E. zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
- (sports, slang) A referee.
- (medicine, slang) An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment. (Originates in the advice often given to medical students: "when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras".)
- (vulgar, derogatory, slang, ethnic slur) A biracial person, specifically one born to a member of the Sub-Saharan African race and a Caucasian.
- (informal) A fish, the zebra cichlid.
- Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.
Synonyms[edit]
- (unusual diagnosis): fascinoma
Hyponyms[edit]
- (animal of genus Equus): Burchell's zebra, Grevy's zebra, quagga, plains zebra, mountain zebra
Derived terms[edit]
- Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii)
- common zebra (Equus quagga)
- Grévy's zebra
- Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi)
- mountain zebra (Equus zebra)
- Persian zebra (Equus hermionus onager)
- plains zebra (Equus quagga
- zebra acara (Nannacara adoketa)
- zebra butterfly (Heliconius charithonia)
- zebra cake
- zebra caterpillar (Melanchra picta)
- zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata)
- zebra crossing
- zebra danio (Danio rerio)
- zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
- zebrafish
- zebra fish (Danio rerio)
- zebra haworthia (Haworthiopsis attenuata)
- zebraic
- zebralike
- zebra lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra)
- zebra mongoose (Mungos mungo)
- zebra mule
- zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
- zebra opossum (†Thylacinus cynocephalus)
- zebra parakeet
- zebra parrot (Melopsittacus undulatus)
- zebra plant
- zebra poison (Euphorbia arborea)
- zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
- zebra spider (Salticus scenicus)
- zebrass
- zebra striping
- zebra swallowtail (Protographium marcellus)
- zebra turkeyfish (Dendrochirus zebra)
- zebra wolf (†Thylacinus cynocephalus)
- zebrawood (Microberlinia spp., etc.)
- zebrine
- zebroid
- zeedonk
- zeehorse
- zorse
Translations[edit]
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Basque[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Noun[edit]
zebra anim
Declension[edit]
Declension of zebra (animate, ending in -a) | |||
---|---|---|---|
indefinite | singular | plural | |
absolutive | zebra | zebra | zebrak |
ergative | zebrak | zebrak | zebrek |
dative | zebrari | zebrari | zebrei |
genitive | zebraren | zebraren | zebren |
comitative | zebrarekin | zebrarekin | zebrekin |
causative | zebrarengatik | zebrarengatik | zebrengatik |
benefactive | zebrarentzat | zebrarentzat | zebrentzat |
instrumental | zebraz | zebraz | zebrez |
inessive | zebrarengan | zebrarengan | zebrengan |
locative | — | — | — |
allative | zebrarengana | zebrarengana | zebrengana |
terminative | zebrarenganaino | zebrarenganaino | zebrenganaino |
directive | zebrarenganantz | zebrarenganantz | zebrenganantz |
destinative | zebrarenganako | zebrarenganako | zebrenganako |
ablative | zebrarengandik | zebrarengandik | zebrengandik |
partitive | zebrarik | — | — |
prolative | zebratzat | — | — |
Catalan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Catalan atzebra, from Old Portuguese *ezevra, *ezevro.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (plural zebres)
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “zebra” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Cebuano[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from English zebra, from Italian zebra, from Portuguese zebra, zebro (“zebra”), from Old Portuguese enzebro, ezebra, azebra (“wild ass”), from earlier cebrario (882), ezebrario (897), from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin equiferus (“wild horse”) (Pliny), from equus (“horse”) + ferus (“wild”).
Noun[edit]
zebra
- a zebra; any of three species of genus Equus: E. grevyi, E. quagga, or E. zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa
- a pattern or motif similar to the stripes of a zebra
- (informal) an animal with zebra-like stripes
Corsican[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Portuguese zebra (“wild horse”), from zebro, from Old Portuguese zevro, from *ezevro, from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin *equiferus, from equus (“horse”) + ferus (“wild”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (plural zebre)
- Alternative form of zebru
References[edit]
Czech[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- zebra in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- zebra in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Danish[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra c (singular definite zebraen, plural indefinite zebraer)
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Portuguese zebra, from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin equiferus (“wild horse”). The second sense is a shortening of zebrapad.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra m (plural zebra's, diminutive zebraatje n)
- A zebra, a black-and-white striped equid of the genus Equus; Equus zebra, Equus quagga or Equus grevyi. [from late 16th c.]
- A zebra crossing, a pedestrian crossing. [from mid 1950s.]
- Synonym: zebrapad
Hypernyms[edit]
- (pedestrian crossing): oversteekplaats
Hyponyms[edit]
- (zebra): quagga
Derived terms[edit]
Esperanto[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Adjective[edit]
zebra (accusative singular zebran, plural zebraj, accusative plural zebrajn)
Hypernyms[edit]
Hungarian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra (plural zebrák)
- (biology) zebra (animal)
- (road transport) pedestrian crossing, crosswalk, zebra crossing
Declension[edit]
Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | zebra | zebrák |
accusative | zebrát | zebrákat |
dative | zebrának | zebráknak |
instrumental | zebrával | zebrákkal |
causal-final | zebráért | zebrákért |
translative | zebrává | zebrákká |
terminative | zebráig | zebrákig |
essive-formal | zebraként | zebrákként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | zebrában | zebrákban |
superessive | zebrán | zebrákon |
adessive | zebránál | zebráknál |
illative | zebrába | zebrákba |
sublative | zebrára | zebrákra |
allative | zebrához | zebrákhoz |
elative | zebrából | zebrákból |
delative | zebráról | zebrákról |
ablative | zebrától | zebráktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
zebráé | zebráké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
zebráéi | zebrákéi |
Possessive forms of zebra | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | zebrám | zebráim |
2nd person sing. | zebrád | zebráid |
3rd person sing. | zebrája | zebrái |
1st person plural | zebránk | zebráink |
2nd person plural | zebrátok | zebráitok |
3rd person plural | zebrájuk | zebráik |
Synonyms[edit]
- (crosswalk): gyalogátkelőhely
Derived terms[edit]
(Compound words):
Further reading[edit]
- zebra in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Italian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (plural zebre)
- zebra
- (in the plural, informal) zebra crossing
Kashubian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f
References[edit]
- Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “zebra”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi
Ladin[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (plural zebres)
Latin[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (genitive zebrae); first declension
Declension[edit]
First-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | zebra | zebrae |
Genitive | zebrae | zebrārum |
Dative | zebrae | zebrīs |
Accusative | zebram | zebrās |
Ablative | zebrā | zebrīs |
Vocative | zebra | zebrae |
Latvian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Possibly ultimately from a Congolese name for the animal, via Portuguese, via some other European language. Possibly also ultimately from Latin equiferus (“wild horse”), via Portuguese and/or Italian.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (4th declension)
- zebra (esp. Equus zebra)
Declension[edit]
Polish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f
- zebra (animal)
- (colloquial) zebra crossing
- Synonyms: przejście dla pieszych, pasy
Declension[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- → Kashubian: zebra
Further reading[edit]
- zebra in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- zebra in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From zebro, from Old Portuguese zebro, ezebro (“European wild ass”), from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin equiferus (“wild horse”), from equus (“horse”) + ferus (“wild”). Compare Spanish cebra.
Pronunciation[edit]
- Hyphenation: ze‧bra
Noun[edit]
zebra f (plural zebras)
Descendants[edit]
Serbo-Croatian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zȅbra f (Cyrillic spelling зе̏бра)
Declension[edit]
Slovene[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zẹ̄bra f
Inflection[edit]
Feminine, a-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | zébra | ||
gen. sing. | zébre | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative | zébra | zébri | zébre |
accusative | zébro | zébri | zébre |
genitive | zébre | zéber | zéber |
dative | zébri | zébrama | zébram |
locative | zébri | zébrah | zébrah |
instrumental | zébro | zébrama | zébrami |
Further reading[edit]
- “zebra”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
Spanish[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra f (plural zebras)
- Obsolete spelling of cebra
Further reading[edit]
- “zebra”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra c
Declension[edit]
Declension of zebra | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | zebra | zebran | zebror | zebrorna |
Genitive | zebras | zebrans | zebrors | zebrornas |
Turkish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
zebra (definite accusative zebrayı, plural zebralar)
Declension[edit]
Inflection | ||
---|---|---|
Nominative | zebra | |
Definite accusative | zebrayı | |
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | zebra | zebralar |
Definite accusative | zebrayı | zebraları |
Dative | zebraya | zebralara |
Locative | zebrada | zebralarda |
Ablative | zebradan | zebralardan |
Genitive | zebranın | zebraların |
- English terms borrowed from Italian
- English terms derived from Italian
- English terms derived from Portuguese
- English terms derived from Old Portuguese
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛbɹə
- Rhymes:English/ɛbɹə/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/iːbɹə
- Rhymes:English/iːbɹə/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English indeclinable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Sports
- English slang
- en:Medicine
- English vulgarities
- English derogatory terms
- English ethnic slurs
- English informal terms
- en:Cichlids
- en:Equids
- en:Swallowtails
- Basque terms with audio links
- Basque lemmas
- Basque nouns
- Basque animate nouns
- eu:Equids
- Catalan terms inherited from Old Catalan
- Catalan terms derived from Old Catalan
- Catalan terms borrowed from Old Portuguese
- Catalan terms derived from Old Portuguese
- Catalan 2-syllable words
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan terms with audio links
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan feminine nouns
- ca:Equids
- Cebuano terms borrowed from English
- Cebuano terms derived from English
- Cebuano terms derived from Italian
- Cebuano terms derived from Portuguese
- Cebuano terms derived from Old Portuguese
- Cebuano terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Cebuano terms derived from Latin
- Cebuano lemmas
- Cebuano nouns
- Cebuano informal terms
- ceb:Equids
- Corsican terms borrowed from Portuguese
- Corsican terms derived from Portuguese
- Corsican terms derived from Old Portuguese
- Corsican terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Corsican terms derived from Latin
- Corsican terms with IPA pronunciation
- Corsican lemmas
- Corsican nouns
- Corsican feminine nouns
- Czech 2-syllable words
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech feminine nouns
- cs:Equids
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- da:Equids
- Dutch terms borrowed from Portuguese
- Dutch terms derived from Portuguese
- Dutch terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Esperanto words suffixed with -a
- Esperanto lemmas
- Esperanto adjectives
- eo:Equids
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/rɒ
- Rhymes:Hungarian/rɒ/2 syllables
- Hungarian lemmas
- Hungarian nouns
- hu:Biology
- hu:Road transport
- hu:Equids
- Italian 2-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/ɛbra
- Rhymes:Italian/ɛbra/2 syllables
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian feminine nouns
- Italian informal terms
- it:Equids
- Kashubian terms derived from Italian
- Kashubian terms derived from Portuguese
- Kashubian terms derived from Old Portuguese
- Kashubian terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Kashubian terms derived from Latin
- Kashubian terms borrowed from Polish
- Kashubian terms derived from Polish
- Kashubian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Kashubian lemmas
- Kashubian nouns
- Kashubian feminine nouns
- csb:Equids
- Ladin lemmas
- Ladin nouns
- Ladin feminine nouns
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin feminine nouns
- Latin first declension nouns
- Latin feminine nouns in the first declension
- New Latin
- la:Equids
- Latvian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latvian terms with audio links
- Latvian lemmas
- Latvian nouns
- Latvian feminine nouns
- Latvian fourth declension nouns
- lv:Equids
- lv:Mammals
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛbra
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛbra/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish feminine nouns
- Polish colloquialisms
- pl:Equids
- pl:Roads
- Portuguese terms inherited from Old Portuguese
- Portuguese terms derived from Old Portuguese
- Portuguese terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
- Portuguese terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Portuguese terms inherited from Latin
- Portuguese terms derived from Latin
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- pt:Equids
- Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian feminine nouns
- sh:Equids
- Slovene 2-syllable words
- Slovene terms with IPA pronunciation
- Slovene lemmas
- Slovene nouns
- Slovene feminine nouns
- Slovene feminine a-stem nouns
- sl:Equids
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- Spanish obsolete forms
- Spanish terms spelled with ze or zi
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- sv:Equids
- Turkish terms borrowed from Italian
- Turkish terms derived from Italian
- Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish nouns
- tr:Equids