okapi

[ oh-kah-pee ]

noun

, plural o·ka·pis, (especially collectively) o·ka·pi.

1. an African mammal, Okapia johnstoni, closely related to and resembling the giraffe, but smaller and with a much shorter neck.

okapi

/ əʊˈkɑːpɪ /

noun

1. a ruminant mammal, Okapia johnstoni, of the forests of central Africa, having a reddish-brown coat with horizontal white stripes on the legs and small horns: family Giraffidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of okapi¹

1900; < Bambuba (Mvu’ba), a Central Sudanic language of the NE Democratic Republic of the Congo (or < a related Pygmy dial.), according to English Africanist Harry Johnston (1858–1927), author of the first zoological descriptions of the animal

Word History and Origins

Origin of okapi¹

C20: from a Central African word

Example Sentences

Similarly, air that Lynggaard vacuumed from the okapi pen contained DNA from 23 vertebrate species.

From Science News For Students

The okapi shot a dirty look at biologist Christina Islas Lynggaard.

From Science News For Students

I am bitterly sorry and disappointed to be obliged to say it, but I think there can be no doubt that we have lost that okapi.

From Project Gutenberg

But, to their keen disappointment, no okapi made its appearance at the drinking-place that night.

From Project Gutenberg

So the meek okapi had added a few stripes on his legs, like a zebra, just to make him less like the scornful antelope.

From Project Gutenberg

An okapi is worth a hundred other animals of any kind that one can name.

From Project Gutenberg

The Okapi lives in pairs in the deepest recesses of the forest.

From Project Gutenberg