zebra /ˈzɛbrə 
, ˈziːbrə / ▸ noun 1 an African wild horse with black-and-white stripes and an erect mane. Genus Equus, family Equidae: three species, in particular the common zebra (E. burchellii).
2 a large butterfly with pale stripes on a dark background. ▪ a yellow and black American butterfly (Heliconius charitonius, subfamily Heliconiinae, family Nymphalidae).
▪ also Malayan zebra, a black and white Asian butterfly(Graphium delesserti, family Papilionidae).
3 South African English (also zebra fish) a silvery-gold sea bream with vertical black stripes. Diplodus cervinus, family Sparidae.
– DERIVATIVES zebrine /ˈzɛbrʌɪn , ˈziːbrʌɪn / adjective – ORIGIN early 17th century: from Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese, originally in the sense ‘wild ass’, perhaps ultimately from Latin equiferus, from equus ‘horse’ + ferus ‘wild’.
English