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okapi

 - 3 dictionary results

o⋅ka⋅pi

  [oh-kah-pee]
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–noun, plural -pis, (especially collectively) -pi.
an African mammal, Okapia johnstoni, closely related to and resembling the giraffe, but smaller and with a much shorter neck.
Origin:
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·ka·pi   (ō-kä'pē)   
n.   pl. okapi or o·ka·pis
A ruminant forest mammal (Okapia johnstoni) of the Congo River basin in Africa, related to the giraffe but smaller and having a short neck, reddish-brown body, creamy white cheeks, and whitish stripes and bands on the legs.

[Perhaps of Mvuba (Nilo-Saharan language of Congo) origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

okapi 
"short-necked giraffe of central Africa," 1900, from the animal's name in Mbuba (Congo). Reported by Eng. explorer Sir Harry Johnston (1858-1927).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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