hartebeest

[ hahr-tuh-beest, hahrt-beest ]

noun,plural har·te·beests, (especially collectively) har·te·beest.
  1. any large African antelope of the genus Alcelaphus, having ringed horns that curve backward: some species are endangered.

  2. any of several related African antelopes, as certain species of the genus Damaliscus.

Origin of hartebeest

1
From Afrikaans, dating back to 1780–90; see origin at hart, beast

Words Nearby hartebeest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hartebeest in a sentence

  • We met one man who goes out ten minutes from town every other day and kills a kongoni (hartebeest) as food for his dogs.

    In Africa | John T. McCutcheon
  • The “hartebeest-house” is a hut of rude construction, the usual materials being reeds and grass with a plastering of mud.

    The Vee-Boers | Mayne Reid
  • They were antelopes of course—that species known among Cape colonists as the “hartebeest.”

  • He appeared rather to be running harder that they, as if sent forward to push the hartebeest, while the rest saved their wind.

  • A branch of the Koranas—those of the valley of the hartebeest River—deserves particular attention.

British Dictionary definitions for hartebeest

hartebeest

hartbeest (ˈhɑːtˌbiːst)

/ (ˈhɑːtɪˌbiːst) /


noun
  1. either of two large African antelopes, Alcelaphus buselaphus or A. lichtensteini, having an elongated muzzle, lyre-shaped horns, and a fawn-coloured coat

  2. any similar and related animal, such as Damaliscus hunteri (Hunter's hartebeest)

Origin of hartebeest

1
C18: via Afrikaans from Dutch; see hart, beast

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012