zebra

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See also: Zebra, zébra, zebră, zebrā, zebrą, żebra, and žebra
Languages (24)
English
Basque • Catalan • Cebuano • Corsican • Crimean Tatar • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Esperanto • Hungarian • Indonesian • Italian • Kashubian • Ladin • Latin • Latvian • Polish • Portuguese • Serbo-Croatian • Slovene • Spanish • Swedish • Turkish
Page categories

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Zebra

Etymology

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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”).(Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

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.[1] This pronunciation is now used throughout the UK and most Commonwealth nations. The long-vowel pronunciation remains standard in Canadian and American English.

(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.

Pronunciation

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

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zebra (plural zebra or zebras)

  2. Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: E. grevyi, E. quagga, or E. zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
  3. (sports, slang) A referee.
  4. (medicine, slang) An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.
    • 2005 March 7, “Apologies and Rememberances”, in Good Witch, season 1, episode 2 (TV), spoken by Dr. Sam Radford and Cassie Nightingale (James Denton and Catherine Bell), via Hallmark:
      "It's a zebra! George. OK, I should explain. A zebra is..."
      "Medical slang for coming to an exotic diagnosis when a more simple explanation is more likely."
      "That's right. I was convinced that George, given his age and symptoms, had some kind of cardiac issue. It fit, it made sense. Because I was looking for the obvious when I should have been looking for the zebra! George is just having an allergic reaction to a combination of chemicals from all the stains and paints he's been using in the garage."
  5. (medicine, by extension) Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
    • 2020, Pharmaceutical Technology‎[2]:
      EDS charities around the world use a zebra logo to promote the idea that sometimes it really is that ‘rare’ condition.
    • 2022 December 24, CNN‎[3]:
      “I was told in medical school, ‘when you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras,’” she says. Many trainee doctors receive the same advice – when a patient presents with symptoms, “look for the common thing.” That’s why EDS patients commonly refer to themselves as zebras – and also use the fabulous collective noun “dazzle.” The name represents rarity and evokes the stripy stretch marks that are a common feature on EDS skin.
  6. (vulgar, derogatory, slang, ethnic slur) A biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.
    • 2021 April 10, Alex Clark, “‘I’m 51, I can say what I want’: Leone Ross has overcome her fears”, in The Guardian:
      “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.”
  7. (informal) A zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata).
  8. Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.
  9. A zebra crossing.
    • 2010, Mick Herron, Slow Horses, page 247:
      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 . . .

Usage notes

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  • (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.

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wells, John (1997) “Our changing pronunciation”, in Transactions of the Yorkshire Dialect Society‎[1], retrieved 6 February 2014, pages xix.42-48

Anagrams

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Basque

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish cebra.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (most dialects) /s̻ebra/ [s̻e.β̞ra]
  • IPA(key): (Biscayan) /s̺ebra/ [s̺e.β̞ra]

  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ebra
  • Hyphenation: ze‧bra

Noun

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zebra anim

  1. zebra

Declension

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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 — —

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “zebra”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
  • “zebra”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Catalan

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Catalan Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ca

Etymology

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Inherited from Old Catalan atzebra, from Old Galician-Portuguese *ezevra, *ezevro.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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zebra f (plural zebres)

  1. zebra

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Cebuano

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English zebra, 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”).

Noun

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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

Corsican

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Etymology

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From Portuguese zebra (“wild horse”), from zebro, from Old Galician-Portuguese zevro, from *ezevro, from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin *equiferus, from equus (“horse”) + ferus (“wild”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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zebra f (plural zebre)

  1. Alternative form of zebru

References

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Crimean Tatar

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Etymology

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Probably from Russian зебра (zebra), from Italian zebra

Noun

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zebra

  1. zebra
    Synonym: qaşqalı at

Declension

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Declension of zebra
singular plural
nominative zebra zebralar
genitive zebranıñ zebralarnıñ
dative zebrağa zebralarğa
accusative zebranı zebralarnı
locative zebrada zebralarda
ablative zebradan zebralardan

References

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Czech

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Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Pronunciation

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Noun

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zebra f

  1. zebra

Declension

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Declension of zebra (hard feminine reducible)
singular plural
nominative zebra zebry
genitive zebry zeber
dative zebře zebrám
accusative zebru zebry
vocative zebro zebry
locative zebře zebrách
instrumental zebrou zebrami

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “zebra”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “zebra”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

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Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Noun

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zebra c (singular definite zebraen, plural indefinite zebraer)

  1. zebra

Declension

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Declension of zebra
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative zebra zebraen zebraer zebraerne
genitive zebras zebraens zebraers zebraernes

Dutch

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Drie zebra's. — Three zebras (sense 1).
Een zekere zebra in Londen. — A certain zebra crossing in London.

Etymology

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Borrowed from Portuguese 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”). The second sense is a shortening of zebrapad.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈzeː.braː/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ze‧bra

Noun

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

  1. a zebra, a black-and-white striped equid of the genus Equus; Equus zebra, Equus quagga or Equus grevyi [from late 16th c.]
  2. a zebra crossing, a pedestrian crossing [from mid 1950s.]
    Synonym: zebrapad

Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Esperanto

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Etymology

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From zebro (“zebra”) +‎ -a.

Adjective

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

  1. zebrine, hippotigrine

Hypernyms

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Hungarian

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Zebra [1].
Zebra [2].

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈzɛbrɒ]
  • Hyphenation: zeb‧ra
  • Rhymes: -rɒ

Noun

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zebra (plural zebrák)

  1. (biology) zebra (animal)
  2. (road transport) pedestrian crossing, crosswalk, zebra crossing

Declension

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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

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Derived terms

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(Compound words):

Further reading

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  • zebra in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Indonesian

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Noun

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zebra (first-person possessive zebraku, second-person possessive zebramu, third-person possessive zebranya)

  1. zebra
  2. zebra walk

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): */ˈd͡zɛ.bra/
  • Rhymes: -ɛbra
  • Hyphenation: zè‧bra

Noun

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zebra f (plural zebre)

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

Kashubian

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Zebra.

Etymology

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Borrowed from Polish zebra.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈzɛ.bra/
  • Rhymes: -ɛbra
  • Syllabification: ze‧bra

Noun

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zebra f

  1. zebra (striped mammal of the genus Equus)

References

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  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “zebra”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎[4]

Ladin

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Noun

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zebra f (plural zebres)

  1. zebra

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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zebra f (genitive zebrae); first declension

  1. (New Latin) zebra (Equus zebra)

Declension

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First-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative zebra zebrae
genitive zebrae zebrārum
dative zebrae zebrīs
accusative zebram zebrās
ablative zebrā zebrīs
vocative zebra zebrae

Latvian

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 zebra on Latvian Wikipedia
Zebra

Etymology

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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

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Noun

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zebra f (4th declension)

  1. zebra (esp. Equus zebra)

Declension

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Declension of zebra (4th declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs) zebra zebras
accusative (akuzatīvs) zebru zebras
genitive (ģenitīvs) zebras zebru
dative (datīvs) zebrai zebrām
instrumental (instrumentālis) zebru zebrām
locative (lokatīvs) zebrā zebrās
vocative (vokatīvs) zebra zebras

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl
zebry sense 1
zebra sense 2

Etymology

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Borrowed from French zèbre.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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zebra f

  2. zebra (any equid of the subgenus Hippotigris)
  4. (colloquial) crosswalk, pedestrian crossing, zebra crossing (pedestrian crossing featuring broad white stripes)
    Synonyms: pasy, przejście dla pieszych
  5. black and white striped pattern

Declension

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Declension of zebra
singular plural
nominative zebra zebry
genitive zebry zebr
dative zebrze zebrom
accusative zebrę zebry
instrumental zebrą zebrami
locative zebrze zebrach
vocative zebro zebry
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nouns

Descendants

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  • → Kashubian: zebra

Further reading

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  • zebra in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • zebra in Polish dictionaries at PWN
  • zebry in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

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Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pt
zebra (Equus quagga antiquorum) (sense 1)
zebra (sense 5)
zebra (sense 6)
zebra (sense 9)

Etymology 1

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From zebro, from Old Galician-Portuguese zebro, ezebro (“European wild ass”), from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, from Latin equiferus (“wild horse”), from equus (“horse”) + ferus (“wild”). Compare Spanish cebra.

Senses 2 and 3 of the word comes from the popular Brazilian betting game jogo do bicho, in which the animal is absent, therefore it is unlikely that a zebra will be drawn.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: ze‧bra

Noun

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zebra f (plural zebras)

  1. zebra
    • 1844, Alexandre Herculano, chapter XVI, in Eurico, o Presbítero:
      Para aqueles, todavia, que não estivessem afeitos a perseguir a zebra pelas encostas escarpadas, a galgar os precipícios após a cabra mon­tês e a combater com os ursos e javalis nas bordas dos fojos, sem se lhes turbar a vista; para esses tais a ponte vegetal dos astúrios seria um sítio arriscado.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. (Brazil, slang) A victorious competitor initially thought unlikely to win, especially in sports; an underdog
    Synonym: azarão
    Aquele time ganhou quando todo mundo pensou que ele iria perder, mas que zebra!
    That [soccer] team won when everyone else thought they were going to lose, what an underdog!
  3. (Brazil, slang) an unexpected result in a competition
  4. (Brazil, derogatory) idiot, stupid person
    • 1872, Machado de Assis, chapter III, in Canseiras em vão:
      — Ah! já sei, disse ele; receou ofender a suscetibilidade da formosa senhora. É um homem polido… e tolo, creio eu. Tanto melhor, não me dou com espertos e malcriados. Carta a Z. Z. Z. Que querem dizer estas letras? Serão também simbólicas? Três vezes zebra, talvez quisesse dizer de si mesmo o anunciante. Pois, senhor, é comigo.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1879, Artur de Azevedo, “Ato Primeiro”, in A Joia, Cena VII:
      Não sou zebra, que, se quer balas alguém, compra-as a três por vintém.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    Synonym: burro
  5. (Brazil, informal) prison uniform
  6. (Portugal, informal) zebra crossing
  7. (Portugal, informal) vice, a bad habit
  8. (Beira) a type of lanky spinning top
  9. (motor racing) curb (line of flat curbstones on the corners of racing tracks)
  10. zebra pattern
    • 1994, chapter I, in Decreto-Lei de Portugal 114 de 1994 (Código da estrada português), Artigo 6º - Sinais:
      Passagem para peões, constituída por bandas em zebra, paralelas ao eixo da via, ou por duas linhas transversais contínuas (M11 e M11ª): indica o local por onde os peões devem efectuar o atravessamento da via.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  11. (obsolete) cow
Usage notes
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  • The gender of this Portuguese word is always feminine. When the gender of the being itself must be specified, use “zebra-macho” for male, and “zebra-fêmea” for female.
Derived terms
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[edit]
Descendants
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Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: ze‧bra

Verb

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zebra

  1. inflection of zebrar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

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Serbo-Croatian

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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zȅbra f (Cyrillic spelling зе̏бра)

  1. zebra

Declension

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Declension of zebra
singular plural
nominative zebra zebre
genitive zebre zebra
dative zebri zebrama
accusative zebru zebre
vocative zebro zebre
locative zebri zebrama
instrumental zebrom zebrama

Slovene

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /zèːbra/, /zéːbra/

Noun

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zẹ̄bra f

  1. zebra

Inflection

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 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing. zébra
gen. sing. zébre
singular dual plural
nominative
(imenovȃlnik) 		zébra zébri zébre
genitive
(rodȋlnik) 		zébre zéber zéber
dative
(dajȃlnik) 		zébri zébrama zébram
accusative
(tožȋlnik) 		zébro zébri zébre
locative
(mẹ̑stnik) 		zébri zébrah zébrah
instrumental
(orọ̑dnik) 		zébro zébrama zébrami

Further reading

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  • “zebra”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024

Spanish

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Noun

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zebra f (plural zebras)

  1. Obsolete spelling of cebra.

Further reading

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Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
en zebra

Alternative forms

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Noun

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zebra c

  1. zebra
    Zebror är randiga / har ränder
    Zebras are striped / have stripes
    – Vilket djur på savannen har bäst syn? – Zebra!
    – Which animal on the savannah has the best eyesight? – Zebra! ["se-bra" (see-well) – widespread schoolyard joke, though the pronunciation doesn't match perfectly]

Declension

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Declension of zebra
nominative genitive
singular indefinite zebra zebras
definite zebran zebrans
plural indefinite zebror zebrors
definite zebrorna zebrornas

References

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Turkish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Italian zebra.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

[edit]

zebra (definite accusative zebrayı, plural zebralar)

  1. zebra

Declension

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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
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