Giraffe meaning

jə-răf'
Either of two species (genus Giraffa, family Giraffidae) of African ruminants, with a very long neck and long legs: the tallest of existing animals, they often reach a height of 5.5 m (c. 18 ft)
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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).
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A ruminant, of the genus Giraffa, of the African savannah with long legs and highly elongated neck, which make it the tallest living animal; yellow fur patterned with dark spots, often in the form of a network; and two or more short, skin-covered horns.
noun
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(Cockney rhyming slang) A laugh.

Are you having a giraffe?!

noun
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the Giraffe
  • The constellation Camelopardalis.
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Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

the Giraffe

Origin of giraffe

  • French girafe from Italian giraffa from Arabic dialectal zirāfa probably of African origin
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • From French giraffe (now girafe), from Arabic زَرَافَة (zarāfa, “giraffe”), apparently ultimately from Persian زرناپا (zurnāpā, “giraffe”), a compound of زرنا (zurnā, “flute, zurna”) and پا (pā, “leg”).
    From Wiktionary

Giraffe Sentence Examples

  • In the giraffe it may be absent or present.

  • The zebra, giraffe and the rare okapi are found in the north-eastern borderlands.

  • The elephant, giraffe, lion, leopard, hyena, zebra, buffalo, gnu, quagga, kudu, eland and many other kinds of antelope roamed the plains; the rhinoceros, hippopotamus and crocodile lived in or frequented the rivers, and ostriches and baboons were numerous.

  • In general form, so far as can be judged from the disarticulated skeleton, the okapi was more like an antelope than a giraffe, the fore and hind cannon-bones, and consequently the entire limbs, being of approximately equal length.

  • Even Mrs. Reynolds pitched in with some stuffed animals - a giraffe and horse.

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Words near giraffe in the Dictionary