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gi·raffe

(jə-răf)

n. pl. gi·raffesor giraffe

An African ruminant mammal (Giraffa camelopardalis) having a very long neck and legs, a tan coat with orange-brown to black blotches, and short horns. It is the tallest land animal, often reaching a height of 5 meters (16 feet).

[French girafe, from Italian giraffa, from Arabic dialectal zirāfa, variant of Arabic zarāfa, zurāfa, probably of African origin; perhaps akin to Somali geri and Turkana (Nilotic language of Kenya) e-kori.]

gi·raffish adj.

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giraffe

reticulated giraffe

Giraffa camelopardalis subsp. reticulata

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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