Where does “zebra” come from?
zebra (Esperanto) comes from Esperanto zebro, from French zèbre, from Portuguese zebra, from Old Portuguese enzebro, from Old Portuguese cebrario, from Vulgar Latin eciferus, from Latin equiferus, from Latin equus — swift.
zebra (Esperanto): zebrine, hippotigrine
Definitions
- zebrine, hippotigrine
Ancestry of “zebra”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esperanto | zebro | zebra |
| 2 | French | zèbre | zebra; guy, chap; first-person singular present... |
| 3 | Portuguese | zebra | zebra |
| 4 | Old Portuguese | enzebro | — |
| 5 | Old Portuguese | cebrario | — |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | eciferus | fool, wild ass, donkey; wild horse |
| 7 | Latin | equiferus | wild horse |
| 8 | Latin | equus | a horse; a steed, charger |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | ekwos | horse |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁éḱwos | stallion, horse |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁oh₁ḱu- | swift |