Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A giraffe.
  • noun Heraldry A bearing resembling a giraffe but represented with long curved horns.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The giraffe: so called from a certain resemblance in form to a camel, and from its spotted coloration, like that of the pard or leopard.
  • noun In heraldry, a bearing representing a creature like a giraffe, but with long and generally curved horns, borrowed from the medieval bestiaries. Also formerly camelopardal, camelopardel.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) An African ruminant; the giraffe. See giraffe.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun archaic A giraffe.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun tallest living quadruped; having a spotted coat and small horns and very long neck and legs; of savannahs of tropical Africa

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin camēlopardus, from Latin camēlopardalis, from Greek kamēlopardalis : kamēlos, camel; see camel + pardalis, pard (so called because the giraffe has a head like a camel's and the spots of a leopard).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin camēlopardalis, from Ancient Greek καμηλοπάρδαλις (kamēlopardalis, "giraffe"), from κάμηλος (kamēlos, "camel") + πάρδαλις (pardalis, "leopard")

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Examples

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  • long-necked leopard (giraffe)

    January 11, 2008