sb. Also 7 zabra, zeuera, sebra, zebre, zevre, (zembra), 7–8 zeura; 7 pl. zebrae. [Congolese. Cf. F. zèbre, It. (Florio, 1598), Pg. zebra, Sp. cebra.]
1. A South African equine quadruped (Equus or Hippotigris zebra), of a whitish ground-color striped all over with regular bars of black; inhabiting mountainous regions, and noted for its wildness and swiftness.
With qualifying words, applied to other species, as Burchell’s Zebra, E. or H. Burchelli (also called DAUW); Grévy’s Zebra, E. or H. Grevyi. Sometimes applied generically to the whole subgenus Hippotigris, comprising all the striped species of African wild horses, including the Quagga.
1600. J. Pory, trans. Leo’s Africa, Introd., 39. The Zebra or Zabra of this countrey [sc. Congo] being about the bignes of a mule, is a beast of incomparable swiftnes.
1625. Purchas, Pilgrims, VII. iii. § 3. 977. Holding in each hand a Zeueras, or wilde horses tayle.
1638. Sir T. Herbert, Trav. (ed. 2), 14. Apes, Baboons,… Zebrae, Wolves, Foxes.
1653. H. Cogan, trans. Pinto’s Trav., lv. 216. Some applied themselves … to the pursuing of Tygers, Rhinocerots, Ounces, Zevres.
1683. Weekly Mem., 15. A Beast called Zecora or Zembra.
1735. Johnson, Lobo’s Abyssinia, Voy., i. 5. A Zeura or Wild-Ass, a Creature of large Size, and admirable Beauty.
1776. Gibbon, Decl. & F., xii. I. 350. Twenty zebras displayed their elegant forms and variegated beauty to the eyes of the Roman people.
1857. Livingstone, Trav., iii. 56. The presence of the … zebra … is always a certain indication of water being within a distance of seven or eight miles.
1886. Besant, Childr. Gibeon, II. vi. You might as well put a zebra in harness as Melenda into any kind of service.
2. transf. Applied to things having stripes resembling or suggesting those of a zebra:
a. natural objects (see quots.).
1811. Pinkerton, Petral., II. 101. There is also a rare kind [of agate] called the zebra, from its regular black bands upon a white ground.
1815. Burrow, Elem. Conchol., 200. Bulla Achatina, Broad-striped Zebra, or Pink-mouthed Chersina.
1901. Field, 23 Nov., 812/2. Howietoun still supplies … two-year-old ‘zebras,’ a name given to a very beautiful hybrid between our English trout and the American char.
b. Comm. Name for a striped shawl, scarf, or the like.
1851. Illustr. Exhibitor, 7/1. Coloured goods, such as handkerchiefs, ginghams, checks,… scarfs, and zebras.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, Zebras, a name given to Paisley shawls, which are very generally worn in Turkey, as sashes or other parts of dress.
c. Humorous name for a convict in striped prison dress.
1882. Sala, Amer. Revis. (1885), 218. A ‘Zebra’ is the humorous nickname for a convict.
3. attrib. and Comb., as zebra mark, meat, stripe; zebra-like, -striped adjs.; esp. in names of genera, species, or varieties of animals having stripes like those of a zebra, as zebra caterpillar, finch, frog, mackerel, mussel, parakeet, rush, shark, sole, woodpecker (see quots.); also zebra fish, an Australian fish (Neotephrœops zebra) of the perch kind; zebra-opossum = zebra-wolf; zebra-plant, a tropical American plant, Maranta (Calathea) zebrina, having large ornamental leaves marked with dark stripes (Treas. Bot., 1866); zebra-poison, a South African tree, Euphorbia arborea, with highly poisonous milky juice (see quot.); zebra-wolf, the striped Tasmanian ‘wolf’ = THYLACINE; zebra-wood, name for several kinds of ornamentally striped wood used by cabinet-makers, furnished by various trees and shrubs, as Omphalobium Lambertii of S. America, Eugenia fragrans of the W. Indies, and Guettarda speciosa of various tropical regions; also for the plants themselves.
1895. J. H. & A. B. Comstock, Study of Insects, 305. The *Zebra Caterpillar, Mamestra picta.
1889. Science-Gossip, XXV. 215. *Zebra finches.
1771. Lort, in Phil. Trans., LXI. 247. It is called by the Commodore the *Zebra fish.
1802. Shaw, Gen. Zool., III. 123. *Zebra Frog…. This appears to be the largest of all the … slender-bodied Frogs, and is, according to Seba, a native of Carolina and Virginia. Its colour is an elegant pale rufous brown, beautifully marked … with transverse chesnut-coloured bands.
1815. Burrow, Elem. Conchol., 201. Buccinum Rugosum, *Zebra Helmet.
1872. Daily Tel., 11 Jan., 5/5. Certain most brilliant fish, covered with *zebra-like stripes of green and pink, and called by the name of wrasse.
1802. Shaw, Gen. Zool., IV. 587. *Zebra Mackrel. Scomber Zebra … bands of the body continued nearly through the dorsal and anal fin.
1869. Sir J. Paget, in Mem. & Lett. (1901), 408. A note from Lord Fitzwilliam about his horse with *zebra-marks.
1907. J. H. Patterson, Man-Eaters of Tsavo, xxiii. 262. He was afraid that they would seize all the *zebra-meat that the lions had not already eaten.
1883. Goole Weekly Times, 7 Sept., 8/4. Down among the side stones are *zebra-mussels (Dreissena polymorpha).
1899. Speaker, 18 Feb., 204/1. The zebra mussel is a native of the rivers of Southern Russia.
1855. Engl. Cycl., Nat. Hist., III. 697. T[hylacinus] cynocephalus,… the Tasmanian Wolf, *Zebra Opossum, and Zebra Wolf.
1865. H. Kingsley, Hillyars & Burtons, I. Others … now so popular in London as *Zebra parakeets.
1882. J. Smith, Dict. Pop. Names Plants, 449. *Zebra Poison…. Its milky juice is highly poisonous, whole herds of zebras having been killed by branches of it being placed in the water which they drink.
1796. Nemnich, Polygl.-Lex., 946. *Zebra rhomb, Voluta paupercula.
1882. Garden, 2 Sept., 203/1. The Eulalia although very beautiful … is still surpassed by the *Zebra Rush.
1804. Shaw, Gen. Zool., V. 352. *Zebra Shark…. Squalus tigrinus.… Of a dark brown colour,… barred with … milk-white,… somewhat undulating stripes. Ibid. (1803), IV. 305. *Zebra Sole…. Marked from head to tail by numerous … deep brown … bands.
1890. Burnand, Very Much Abroad, 332. The Merry Swiss Boy, in canary-coloured uniform with *zebra stripes over it, is six foot two and very courteous.
1895. J. H. & A. B. Comstock, Study of Insects, 379. The *Zebra Swallow-tail, Iphiclides ajax.
1853. Househ. Wds., VII. 210/2. The skin of the *Zebra-Wolf is smooth and glossy, somewhat resembling in its colour that of the Bengal tiger…. Zebra-Wolves are now extremely scarce.
1783. Trans. Soc. Arts, I. 22. For importing Earth Nuts, Myrtle Wax, Sturgeon, and *Zebra Wood. £175.
1852. R. S. Surtees, Sponge’s Sp. Tour, xlii. A beautiful Devonport of zebra-wood, with a plate-glass back.
Hence Zebraed pa. pple. or ppl. a. (cf. F. zébré), striped like a zebra; Zebraic (irreg. after Hebraic), Zebrine [-INE1] adjs., related to, or characteristic of, the zebra; Zebroid a., resembling or characteristic of a zebra.
1839. New Monthly Mag., LVI. 311. The whole garment *zebraed with tarnished lace.
1855. Engl. Cycl., Nat. Hist., III. 697. Barred or zebraed on the lower part of the back and rump with about 16 jet-black transverse stripes.
1890. Sat. Rev., 6 Sept., 287/2. Its multi-coloured zebraëd form.
1895. W. Wright, Palmyra & Zenobia, xxiv. 277. Hermon itself, streaked and zebraed with snow.
1898. A. Lang, in Longm. Mag., Oct., 559. The horse is supposed to have been developed out of the zebra, or a *zebraic animal.
1868. Darwin, Anim. & Pl., II. 373. The *zebrine stripes on dun-coloured horses.
1899. Nat. Science, March, 209. The reproductive organs, which were of a *zebroid type.
