zebra

Etymology

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 Commonwealth. The long vowel pronunciation remains standard in American English.

Pronunciation

• (UK, Commonwealth) IPA^(key): /ˈzɛbɹə/, /ˈziːbɹə/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • Hyphenation: zeb‧ra
• (US and trad. English) IPA^(key): /ˈziːbɹə/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • Hyphenation: ze‧bra

Noun

zebra (plural zebra or zebras)

1. Any of three species of genus Equus: E. grevyi, E. quagga, or E. zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
2. (sports, slang) A referee.
3. (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 hoof beats, think of horses, not zebras.")
4. (vulgar, pejorative, slang) A biracial person, specifically one born to a member of the Sub-Saharan African race and a Caucasian.
5. (informal) A fish, the zebra cichlid.

See also

• quagga
• Equus burchelli, Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, Equus zebra

References

Anagrams

• braze

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

zebra

1. zebra

Noun

zebra f (plural zebres)

1. zebra

Etymology

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

zebra

1. 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
2. a pattern or motif similar to the stripes of a zebra
3. (informal) an animal with zebra-like stripes

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛbra/

Noun

zebra f

1. zebra

Further reading

• zebra in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• zebra in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Noun

zebra c (singular definite zebraen, plural indefinite zebraer)

1. zebra

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

zebra m (plural zebra's, diminutive zebraatje n)

1. zebra

Etymology

From zebro (“zebra”) +‎ -a.

Adjective

zebra (accusative singular zebran, plural zebraj, accusative plural zebrajn)

1. zebrine, hippotigrine

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈzɛbrɒ]
• Hyphenation: zeb‧ra

Noun

zebra (plural zebrák)

1. zebra (animal)
2. pedestrian crossing, crosswalk, zebra crossing

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdzɛːbra/

Noun

zebra f (plural zebre)

1. zebra
2. (in the plural, informal) zebra crossing

Noun

zebra f (plural zebres)

1. zebra

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈzeː.bra/

Noun

zēbra f (genitive zēbrae); first declension

1. (New Latin) zebra (Equus zebra)

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛbra/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

zebra f (4th declension)

1. zebra (esp. Equus zebra)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛ.bra/

• (file)

Noun

zebra f

1. zebra (animal)
2. (colloquial) zebra crossing

Etymology

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

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈze.βɾɐ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈze.bɾa/, /ˈze.bɾɐ/
• Hyphenation: ze‧bra

Noun

zebra f (plural zebras)

1. zebra

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zêbra/

Noun

zȅbra f (Cyrillic spelling зе̏бра)

1. zebra

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzèːbra/, /ˈzéːbra/
• Tonal orthography: zẹ́bra, zẹ̑bra

Noun

zébra f (genitive zébre, nominative plural zébre)

1. zebra

Noun

zebra f (plural zebras)

1. Obsolete spelling of cebra

Alternative forms

• sebra

Noun

zebra c

1. zebra

Etymology

Borrowed from English zebra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈzeb.ɾɑ]
• Hyphenation: zeb‧ra

Noun

zebra (definite accusative zebrayı, plural zebralar)

1. zebra