zebra
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈzɛbɹə/
rhymes: -ɛbɹə
note: Canada, US, and traditionally UK
ipa: /ˈziːbɹə/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈziːbɾaː/
Forms: form: zebra
form: zebras
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.
Senses: examples: text: A group of zebras can be called a dazzle.
ref: 2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC:
glosses: Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, E. quagga, or E. zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A referee.
examples: text: "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."
ref: 2005 March 7, “Apologies and Rememberances”, in Good Witch, season 1, episode 2 (TV), spoken by Dr. Sam Radford and Cassie Nightingale (James Denton and Catherine Bell), via Hallmark:
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.
examples: text: EDS charities around the world use a zebra logo to promote the idea that sometimes it really is that ‘rare’ condition.
ref: 2020, Pharmaceutical Technology:
text: “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.
ref: 2022 December 24, CNN:
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
examples: text: “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.”
ref: 2021 April 10, Alex Clark, “‘I’m 51, I can say what I want’: Leone Ross has overcome her fears”, in The Guardian:
glosses: A biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.
glosses: A zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata).
glosses: Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.
examples: text: 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 . . .
ref: 2010, Mick Herron, Slow Horses, page 247:
glosses: A zebra crossing.
Hyponyms: sense: animal of genus Equus
word: Burchell's zebra
sense: animal of genus Equus
word: Grevy's zebra
sense: animal of genus Equus
word: quagga
sense: animal of genus Equus
word: plains zebra
sense: animal of genus Equus
word: mountain zebra
sense: unlikely diagnosis
word: fascinoma
Derived terms: taxonomic: Equus quagga burchellii
word: Burchell's zebra
taxonomic: Equus quagga chapmani
word: Chapman's zebra
taxonomic: Equus quagga
word: common zebra
taxonomic: Equus quagga crawshayi
word: Crawshay's zebra
taxonomic: Equus quagga burchellii
word: Damaraland zebra
taxonomic: Equus quagga boehmi
word: Grant's zebra
word: Grevy's zebra
taxonomic: Equus grevyi
word: Grévy's zebra
taxonomic: Equus zebra hartmannae
word: Hartmann's mountain zebra
taxonomic: Equus quagga borensis
word: maneless zebra
taxonomic: Equus zebra
word: mountain zebra
taxonomic: Equus hermionus onager
word: Persian zebra
word: plains zebra (Equus quagga
taxonomic: Equus quagga selousi
word: Selous's zebra
taxonomic: Nannacara adoketa
word: zebra acara
taxonomic: Cephalophus zebra
word: zebra antelope
taxonomic: Leptotes plinius
word: zebra blue butterfly
taxonomic: Heliconius charithonia
word: zebra butterfly
word: zebra cake
taxonomic: Melanchra picta
word: zebra caterpillar
word: zebra chip
taxonomic: Amatitlania nigrofasciata
word: zebra cichlid
word: zebra crossing
taxonomic: Danio rerio
word: zebra danio
taxonomic: Geopelia striata
word: zebra dove
taxonomic: Cephalophus zebra
word: zebra duiker
taxonomic: Taeniopygia guttata
word: zebra finch
word: zebrafish
taxonomic: Danio rerio etc.
word: zebra fish
taxonomic: Okapia johnstoni
word: zebra giraffe
taxonomic: Haworthiopsis attenuata
word: zebra haworthia
word: zebraic
word: zebralike
taxonomic: Dendrochirus zebra
word: zebra lionfish
taxonomic: Mungos mungo
word: zebra mongoose
word: zebra mouse
word: zebra mule
taxonomic: Dreissena polymorpha
word: zebra mussel
alt: †Thylacinus cynocephalus
word: zebra opossum
word: zebra parakeet
taxonomic: Melopsittacus undulatus
word: zebra parrot
word: zebra plant
taxonomic: Euphorbia arborea
word: zebra poison
word: zebra seahorse
taxonomic: Stegostoma fasciatum
word: zebra shark
taxonomic: Salticus scenicus
word: zebra spider
word: zebrass
word: zebra striping
taxonomic: Protographium marcellus
word: zebra swallowtail
word: zebra-tailed lizard
word: Callisaurus draconoides
taxonomic: Dendrochirus zebra
word: zebra turkeyfish
alt: †Thylacinus cynocephalus
word: zebra wolf
taxonomic: Microberlinia spp.
word: zebrawood
word: zebrine
word: zebroid
word: zeedonk
word: zeehorse
word: zorse
taxonomic: Equus quagga burchellii
word: Zululand zebra
Related terms: quagga
Equus burchelli
Equus grevyi
Equus quagga
Equus zebra