gemsbok

[ gemz-bok ]

/ ˈgɛmzˌbɒk /

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noun, plural gems·boks, (especially collectively) gems·bok.

a large antelope, Oryx gazella, the largest of the oryxes, found in arid regions of southern Africa, including the Kalahari Desert, having a long black tail and conspicuous black striping on the face and from the chin to the front legs and along each lower flank to the rear legs: despite being widely hunted for their nearly straight horns, which are about 33 inches (84 centimeters) long on the males and slightly longer on the females, gemsbok have a conservation status of least concern.

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Also gems·buck

[gemz-buhk] /ˈgɛmzˌbʌk/ .

Origin of gemsbok

First recorded in 1770–80; from Afrikaans, from German Gemsbock “chamois buck, male chamois”; see origin at gems, buck¹

Words nearby gemsbok

gemmy, gemology, gemot, gempylid, gems, gemsbok, Gem State, gemstone, gemütlich, Gemütlichkeit, -gen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gemsbok in a sentence

The gemsbok is of about the same size as the kudu, and is gray in color above and white below.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
Another very fine antelope is the gemsbok, which is found in the more desert regions of Southwestern Africa.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
The antelope was dead, but the lion still alive; though the horns of the gemsbok had passed through his body.
The Mission; or Scenes in Africa|Captain Frederick Marryat
Swinton was anxious to possess one or two more specimens of the oryx, or gemsbok.
The Mission; or Scenes in Africa|Captain Frederick Marryat

The Oryx, or Gemsbok, is a middle-sized species, dwelling in the same neighbourhood with the gnus.
Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found|Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for gemsbok

gemsbok

gemsbuck

/ (ˈɡɛmzˌbʌk) /

noun plural -bok, -boks, -buck or -bucks

Southern African another word for oryx

Word Origin for gemsbok

C18: from Afrikaans, from German Gemsbock, from Gemse chamois + Bock buck 1

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