Etymology

giraffe

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Today it means: A ruminant in the genus Giraffa of the African savannah with long legs, a highly elongated neck, yellow fur patterned with dark spots typically in the form of a network, and two or more horn-like projections called ossicones; the tallest living animal. Full definition →

Middle French giraffe ← Italian giraffa ← Arabic زُرَافَة (zurāfa)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱer-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱerh₂-der.?
  3. Classical Persianزُرْنَا (zurnā)
  4. Proto-Indo-European*ped-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*pṓds
  6. Proto-Indo-Iranian*pā́ts
  7. Proto-Iranian*pā́dah
  8. Old Persian𐎱𐎠𐎭 (p-a-d)
  9. Classical Persianپَا (pā)
  10. Classical Persianزُرْنَاپَا (zurnāpā)
  11. Classical Syriacܙܪܢܦܐ (zarnāp̄ā)
  12. Classical Syriacܙܪܝܦܐ (zārīp̄ā)
  13. Arabicزُرَافَة (zurāfa)
  14. Italiangiraffa
  15. Middle Frenchgiraffe
  16. English todaygiraffe

From Middle French giraffe, from Italian giraffa, from Arabic زُرَافَة (zurāfa), from Classical Syriac ܙܪܝܦܐ (zārīp̄ā), from Classical Persian زُرْنَاپَا (zurnāpā, literally “flute-leg”). Displaced camelopard.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.