# giraffe

> English word · Noun · IPA /dʒɪˈɹɑːf/ · frequency rank #19,096

## Definitions
1. A ruminant, of the genus Giraffa, of the African savannah with long legs and highly elongated neck, making them the tallest living animal; yellow fur patterned with dark spots, often in the form of a network; and two or more short, skin-covered horns, so-called; strictly speaking the horn-like projections are ossicones.
2. A giraffe unicycle.
3. A laugh.
4. A very tall individual.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-der.?
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂der.?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-der.?
Classical Persian زُرْنَا (zurnā)
Proto-Indo-European *ped-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *pṓds
Proto-Indo-Iranian *pā́ts
Proto-Iranian *pā́dah
Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎭 (p-a-d)
Classical Persian پَا (pā)
Classical Persian زُرْنَاپَا (zurnāpā)bor.
Classical Syriac ܙܪܝܦܐ (zārīp̄ā)bor.
Arabic زُرَافَة (zurāfa)bor.
Italian giraffabor.
Middle French giraffebor.
English giraffe
Borrowed from Middle French giraffe, from Italian giraffa. Displaced camelopard.

## Easily confused with
- **graff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/giraffe-vs-graff)
- **giraffes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/giraffe-vs-giraffes)
- **gaffe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gaffe-vs-giraffe)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ggiraffe`, `giarffe`, `girafe`, `girafef`, `girfafe`, `girraffe`, `griaffe`, `igraffe`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/giraffe