zebra

Meaning

1. Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, E. quagga, or E. zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
2. (slang) A referee.
3. (slang) An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.
4. (broadly) Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
5. (derogatory, ethnic, slang, slur) A biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.
6. (informal) A zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata).
7. Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.
8. A zebra crossing.

Synonyms

crosswalk

zebra crossing

Burchell’s zebra

common zebra

perissodactyl

zebra danio

leopard danio

rerio

Translations

zèbre

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Zebra

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zebra

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ζέβρα

cebra

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zebra

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zebra

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zebra

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zebra

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ζέβρος

όναγρος

equus zebra

zèbre

حمار الزرد

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Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈzɛbɹə/

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.