okapi

[ oh-kah-pee ]
/ oʊˈkɑ pi /

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

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

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

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British Dictionary definitions for okapi

okapi
/ (əʊˈkɑːpɪ) /

noun plural -pis or -pi

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 Origin for okapi

C20: from a Central African word