gemsbok

American  

[gemz-bok] / ˈgɛmzˌbɒk /

Also gemsbuck

noun

• gemsboks,
  plural
• gemsbok
  plural

1. 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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gemsbok British  

/ ˈɡɛmzˌbʌk /

noun

1. another word for oryx

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gemsbok
  plural
• gemsboks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of gemsbok

First recorded in 1770–80; from Afrikaans, from German Gemsbock “chamois buck, male chamois”; see origin at gems, buck ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gemsbok gemsboks

The authors cite a hypothetical hunt of a gemsbok, a large antelope from southern Africa.

From Science Magazine ● May 12, 2024

The Kgalagadi transfrontier park, which spans the border with South Africa, is an immense 3 6,000 sq km wilderness, home to gemsbok desert antelope, black-maned Kalahari lions and pygmy falcons.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 2, 2015

Ahead of her, a pair of African gemsbok antelope are running.

From Time Magazine Archive

Little Trüey ran into the inner room and brought out an immense volume bound in gemsbok skin, with a couple of brass clasps upon it to keep it closed.

From Popular Adventure Tales by Mayne Reid

Seventy miles have they ridden; a dozen springbok have they brought in; and, greatest luck of all, the flesh, skin, and horns of a great cow gemsbok decorate the led horse of Rodolf Klopper.

From Tales of South Africa by H.A. Bryden

At the summit, she pauses to drink in the view--and the silence--while the gemsboks peer at her from behind a live oak.

From Time Magazine Archive

He was dead—as Julius Caesar or a door-nail, and so, too, was the brace of gemsboks.

From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Mayne Reid

The lion was observed to crawl off from the spot in a direction that would enable him to get upon the path of the gemsboks, between them and the camp.

From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Mayne Reid

The gemsboks advanced steadily towards the ant-hill, occasionally switching about their black bushy tails; but that was to rid their flanks of the flies, and not from any apprehension of danger.

From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Mayne Reid

There was some probability that the gemsboks would give them the chance they wished for.

From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Mayne Reid

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