zebra
/ˈzɛb.ɹə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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
Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
noun
A biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.
Derogatory; Slang
noun
Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.
noun
Example Sentences
- "A group of zebras can be called a dazzle."
- ""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.""
- "EDS charities around the world use a zebra logo to promote the idea that sometimes it really is that ‘rare’ condition."
- "“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."
- "“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.”"
- "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 . . ."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₁eḱ-, zebra, enzebro, *eciferus, equiferus