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gnu

[ noo, nyoo ]
/ nu, nyu /
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noun, plural gnus, (especially collectively) gnu.
either of two stocky, oxlike antelopes of the genus Connochaetes, the silver-gray, white-bearded C. taurinus of the eastern African plain and the black, white-tailed C. gnou of central South Africa: recently near extinction, the South African gnu is now protected.
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Also called wildebeest.

Origin of gnu

1770–80; <Khoikhoi, first recorded as t’gnu; probably to be identified with ǂnû black, as applying originally to the black wildebeest

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH gnu

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

How to use gnu in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gnu

gnu
/ (nuː) /

noun plural gnus or gnu
either of two sturdy antelopes, Connochaetes taurinus (brindled gnu) or the much rarer C. gnou (white-tailed gnu), inhabiting the savannas of Africa, having an oxlike head and a long tufted tailAlso called: wildebeest

Word Origin for gnu

C18: from Xhosa nqu
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
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