jəˈra]f, -raa(ə)], -rai], -rȧ] noun
( plural giraffes ]fs also ]vz)
Etymology: Italian & Arabic; Italian giraffa, from Arabic zirāfah, zarāfah, probably of African origin; akin to Egyptian sr giraffe
1. : a large fleet African ruminant mammal ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) that is the tallest of living quadrupeds and has a very long rather stiff neck with only the usual seven vertebrae, long front legs, a pair of short skin-covered horns and a median frontal protuberance in both sexes, and a short coat of fawn or cream-colored hair marked with large reddish or brown blotches — called also camelopard
2. : a wing-shaped upright piano of the 18th and early 19th centuries
3. : a car higher at one end than at the other for use on inclines in mining
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