okapi

American  

[oh-kah-pee] / oʊˈkɑ pi /

noun

plural

okapis,

plural

okapi

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

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okapi British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of okapi

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

Example Sentences

The okapi is the closest living relative of which African animal?

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2023

Some of those ancestors wandered toward the rain forest and present-day Congo and eventually gave rise to the okapi.

From Scientific American • Feb. 19, 2023

Discokeryx likely resembled an okapi, a forest-dwelling cousin of modern giraffes.

From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2022

She says only about 20 to 25 other U.S. zoos exhibit okapi.

From Washington Times • Jun. 4, 2017

The noise they make frightens away a young okapi.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver