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ze·bu

(zēb, -by)

A domesticated ox (Bos indicus syn. B. taurus subsp. indicus) native to Asia and Africa, having a prominent hump on the back and a large dewlap.

[French zébu, general name for the animal introduced by Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, from the name under which a zebu was displayed at the Paris fair in 1752, possibly from colloquial Tibetan dzo-po, male offspring of a cow and a yak bull (from from Classical Tibetan mdzo-po : mdzo, cow and yak bull hybrid + -po, suffix for males) or a kindred Tibeto-Burman source, or perhaps from Tibetan ze-ba, the hump of a zebu, camel, or similar animal.]

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zebu

Bos indicus

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:

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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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