camelopard

[ kuh-mel-uh-pahrd ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. a giraffe.

camelopard

/ kəˈmɛl-; ˈkæmɪləˌpɑːd /

noun

1. an obsolete word for giraffe

Word History and Origins

Origin of camelopard¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin camēlopardus, for Latin camēlopardālis < Greek kamēlopárdalis giraffe, equivalent to kámēlo ( s ) camel + pardalis pard ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of camelopard¹

C14: from Medieval Latin camēlopardus, from Greek kamēlopardalis, from kamēlos camel + pardalis leopard , because the giraffe was thought to have a head like a camel's and spots like a leopard's

Example Sentences

Not until the seventeenth century did the English, who fixated on the giraffe’s camel-ish shape and leopard-ish coloring, stop calling it a camelopard.

From The New Yorker

One of the most attractive scenes for the Chinamen was a show of models of a great variety of wild animals, comprising almost everything, from a mouse to a camelopard.

From Project Gutenberg

The classic term “camelopard,” probably introduced when these animals were brought from North Africa to the Roman amphitheatre, has fallen into complete disuse.

From Project Gutenberg

As well try to turn camelopards into crocodiles or pythons into hippos, as convert Africans into Europeans.

From Project Gutenberg

They are called “Camel-thorns,” for the reason that the camelopard was fond of browsing upon their foliage.

From Project Gutenberg