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ibex

[ahy-beks]
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noun, plural i·bex·es, ib·i·ces [ib-uh-seez, ahy-buh-] /ˈɪb əˌsiz, ˈaɪ bə-/, (especially collectively) i·bex.
  1. any of several wild goats of the genus Capra, inhabiting mountainous regions of Eurasia and North Africa, having long, recurved horns.
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Origin of ibex

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1600–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ibex

Historical Examples

  • But I don't think that it was so good as mine about the ibex—it hasn't the same finish.

    Maiwa's Revenge

    H. Rider Haggard

  • These ibex, according to Good, he stalked early and late for four entire days.

    Maiwa's Revenge

    H. Rider Haggard

  • There are few animals, if any, that excel the ibex in endurance and agility.

    The Cliff Climbers

    Captain Mayne Reid

  • They were about to assault an enemy, and that enemy was no other than the ibex.

    The Cliff Climbers

    Captain Mayne Reid

  • There is also an ibex in Siberia; and still another in the Pyrenees.

British Dictionary definitions for ibex

ibex

noun plural ibexes, ibices (ˈɪbɪˌsiːz, ˈaɪ-) or ibex
  1. any of three wild goats, Capra ibex, C. caucasica, or C. pyrenaica, of mountainous regions of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, having large backward-curving horns
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin: chamois
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

Word Origin and History for ibex

n.

c.1600, from Latin ibex "wild goat of the Alps and Apennines," from a pre-Latin Alpine language. The German steinbock.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper