zebra
nounattested in dialogue
- //ˈzɛb.ɹə//
- //ˈziː.bɹə//
- //ˈziːb.rɑː//
Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
noun
- 1
Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
A group of zebras can be called a dazzle.
- 2
slangA referee.
- 3
slangAn unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.
- 4
Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
EDS charities around the world use a zebra logo to promote the idea that sometimes it really is that ‘rare’ condition.
- 5
slangA biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.
“People change countries for all kinds of reasons,” Ross tells me. “But at least one of them was that she had this light-skinned, mixed-race child who had already been called a zebra at school.”
- 6
informalA zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata).
- 7
Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.
- 8
A zebra crossing.
On his way home he'd picked up two economy-sized bags of tortilla chips, and had dropped both when a twat in a Lexus honked him on a zebra . . .
- 9
A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and two at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.
Etymology
First attested in 1600. Borrowed from Italian zebra, from Portuguese zebra, zebro (“zebra”), from Old Galician-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”). While the word was traditionally pronounced with a long vowel in the first syllable in standard English, during the twentieth century a vowel shift occurred in regions of England, with the shortening of the first vowel. This pronunciation is now used throughout the UK and most Commonwealth nations. The long-vowel pronunciation remains standard in Canadian and American English and is used in the UK only by some older, conservative RP speakers. (unlikely diagnosis): Originates in the advice often given to medical students, "when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras". (referee): In reference to the black and white striped shirts they wear.
Forms
- plural
- zebras
zebra · Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
Zebra · radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter Z.zed · The name of the Latin script letter Z/z.Zed · A diminutive of the male given name Zedekiah.