Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa. · A referee. · An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment. · Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
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.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 5 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "root",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*h₁eḱ-",
"4": "*ǵʰwer-"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "dercat",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "itc-pro"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "etydate",
"args": {
"1": "1600"
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"expansion": "First attested in 1600"
},
{
"name": "bor",
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},
"expansion": "Italian zebra"
},
{
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"expansion": "Portuguese zebra"
},
{
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"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "roa-opt",
"3": "enzebro"
},
"expansion": "Old Galician-Portuguese enzebro"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la-vul",
"3": "*eciferus"
},
"expansion": "Vulgar Latin *eciferus"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "equiferus",
"t": "wild horse"
},
"expansion": "Latin equiferus (“wild horse”)"
},
{
"name": "sense",
"args": {
"1": "unlikely diagnosis"
},
"expansion": "(unlikely diagnosis):"
},
{
"name": "sense",
"args": {
"1": "referee"
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"expansion": "(referee):"
}
],
"links": [
[
"zebra",
"zebra#Italian"
],
[
"zebra",
"zebra#Portuguese"
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[
"zebro",
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],
[
"enzebro",
"enzebro#Old_Galician-Portuguese"
],
[
"ezebra",
"ezebra#Old_Galician-Portuguese"
],
[
"azebra",
"azebra#Old_Galician-Portuguese"
],
[
"cebrario",
"cebrario#Old_Galician-Portuguese"
],
[
"ezebrario",
"ezebrario#Old_Galician-Portuguese"
],
[
"*eciferus",
"Reconstruction:Latin/eciferus"
],
[
"equiferus",
"equiferus#Latin"
],
[
"equus",
"equus#Latin"
],
[
"ferus",
"ferus#Latin"
],
[
"when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras",
"when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.",
"A referee.",
"An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.",
"Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder"
],
"tags": [
"slang",
"broadly"
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 15873
}
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