quagga

[ kwag-uh, kwog-uh ]

noun
  1. an extinct equine mammal, Equus quagga, of southern Africa, related to and resembling the zebra, but striped only on the forepart of the body and the head.

Origin of quagga

1
1775–85; <Afrikaans (now spelling kwagga) <Khoikhoi, first recorded as quácha (1691); said to be imitative of the animal's yelp

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How to use quagga in a sentence

  • He had heard of nooses being set for animals as large as the quaggas, and of many being caught in that manner.

  • In less than two weeks from that time, four of the quaggas were436 broken to the saddle, and perfectly obedient to the bit.

  • So on swept the chase, the eland leading, the quaggas after, and Hendrik bringing up the rear.

  • To the left were zebras, and beyond some quaggas, or wild asses, the peculiar bray or cry of quay-gah!

    Off to the Wilds | George Manville Fenn
  • While they were watching the movements of the quaggas, Von Bloom rose suddenly to his feet.

    The Bush Boys | Captain Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for quagga

quagga

/ (ˈkwæɡə) /


nounplural -gas or -ga
  1. a recently extinct member of the horse family (Equidae), Equus quagga, of southern Africa: it had a sandy brown colouring with zebra-like stripes on the head and shoulders

Origin of quagga

1
C18: from obsolete Afrikaans, from Khoikhoi qǔagga; compare Xhosa i-qwara something striped

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