camelopard

American  

[kuh-mel-uh-pahrd] / kəˈmɛl əˌpɑrd /

noun

Archaic.

1. a giraffe.

---

camelopard British  

/ kəˈmɛl-, ˈkæmɪləˌpɑːd /

noun

1. an obsolete word for giraffe

---

Etymology

Origin of camelopard

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin camēlopardus, for Latin camēlopardālis < Greek kamēlopárdalis giraffe, equivalent to kámēlo ( s ) camel + pardalis pard ¹

Example Sentences

Not until the seventeenth century did the English, who fixated on the giraffe’s camel-ish shape and leopard-ish coloring, stop calling it a camelopard.

From The New Yorker

The classic term “camelopard,” probably introduced when these animals were brought from North Africa to the Roman amphitheatre, has fallen into complete disuse.

From Project Gutenberg

They are called “Camel-thorns,” for the reason that the camelopard was fond of browsing upon their foliage.

From Project Gutenberg

The animal is sometimes called camelopard, from two Greek words which signify camel and panther, since in some respects it is like a camel, while its spots are suggestive of the panther.

From Project Gutenberg

The eighth book, which is devoted to land-animals, contains notices respecting the elephant, dragons, serpents, lions, panthers, tigers, the camel, the camelopard, the rhinoceros, and a multitude of other mammalia, and reptiles.

From Project Gutenberg