gnu

See also: Gnu, GNU, gnú, and gnû

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Khoekhoe ǃnu:, likely onomatopoeic of the grunt-type noise of the gnu.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /njuː/
(UK) IPA^(key): /njuː/, /ɡəˈnuː/^[1], /ɡəˈnjuː/^[1]
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(US) IPA^(key): /nuː/, /njuː/
Homophones: new, nu, knew, GNU (UK)
Rhymes: -uː

Noun

gnu (plural gnus or gnu)

A large antelope of the genus Connochaetes, native to Africa, having curved horns.
Synonym: wildebeest

Usage notes

Pronunciation with initial /ɡ/ popularized as a joke, in particular through The Gnu.^[2]^[3]

Derived terms

gnu goat

Translations

large antelope of the genus Connochaetes

Afrikaans: wildebees (af)
Arabic: نَوّ m (naww)
Assamese: নু পহু (nu pohu)
Asturian: ñu (ast) m
Avar: гну (gnu)
Azerbaijani: qnu
Bashkir: гну (gnu)
Basque: ñu (eu)
Breton: gnou
Bulgarian: гну (gnu)
Burmese: ဆတ်ကျွဲ (my) (hcatkywai:)
Catalan: nyu (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 牛羚 (niúlíng), 角馬／角马 (jiǎomǎ)
Cornish: bualgarow
Czech: pakůň (cs) m
Danish: gnu (da) c
Dutch: gnoe (nl) m
Esperanto: gnuo
Faroese: gnýur m
Finnish: gnu (fi), gnuu (fi)
French: gnou (fr) m
Galician: ñu (gl)
Georgian: გნუ (gnu)
German: Gnu (de) n
Greek: γκνου (el) n (gknou)
Hebrew: גנו m (g'nu)
Hindi: विल्डबीस्ट (vilḍabīsṭ)
Hungarian: gnú (hu)
Icelandic: gnýr (is) m
Indonesian: wildebes, gnu
Irish: gnú m
Italian: gnu (it) m, kokoon m
Japanese: ヌー (ja) (nū), 牛氈鹿 (ウシカモシカ, ushikamoshika)
Javanese: gnu
Kabyle: agnu
Korean: 누 (ko) (nu)
Kyrgyz: гну (gnu)
Latvian: gnu
Lezgi: гну (gnu)
Lithuanian: gnu, antilopės gnu
Macedonian: гну n (gnu)
Malagasy: gno (mg)
Malay: gnu
Malayalam: വിൽഡെബീസ്റ്റ് (vilḍebīsṟṟŭ)
Mari:
Eastern Mari: гну (gnu)
Navajo: jádí dághaaʼígíí
North Frisian: gnuus
Northern Sotho: kgokong
Norwegian:
Bokmål: gnu (no) m

Nynorsk: gnu m
Occitan: gno
Polish: gnu (pl) n or f, antylopa gnu f
Portuguese: gnu (pt) m
Punjabi: ਵਿਲਡਬੀਸਟ (vilḍabīsaṭ), ਗ੍ਨੂ (gnū)
Quechua: ñu
Romanian: gnu (ro) m
Romansch: gnu m
Russian: гну (ru) m or f (gnu), антило́па-гну f (antilópa-gnu)
Shona: ngongoni
Slovene: gnu (sl) m
Sorbian:
Upper Sorbian: gnu m
Spanish: ñu (es) m
Swahili: nyumbu (sw), mbogo (sw)
Swedish: gnu (sv) c
Tagalog: nyu, gnu
Tatar: гну (gnu)
Turkish: gnu
Udmurt: гну (gnu)
Uzbek: gnu
Vietnamese: linh dương đầu bò

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “gnu”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
^ Sue Butler (2020) “False patterns in English spelling”, in Rebel Without A Clause‎^[1], Macmillan, →ISBN: “The pronunciation [guh-noo] was popularised as a joke until we all heard that pronunciation so often that it seemed more familiar than [nu].”
^ Flanders and Swann (lyrics and music) (1957) “The Gnu”: “If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame / And remarked "I h'ain't a h'elk, I'm a g-nu"”

Anagrams

Ung, gun, NGU, Gun, UNG, nug, Ngu, NGu

Danish

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:

gnu

Wikipedia ^da

Etymology

From German Gnu, from Afrikaans ghnoe, from Bantu.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɡnuː/, [ɡ̊nuːˀ]

Noun

gnu c (singular definite gnuen, plural indefinite gnuer)

gnu, wildebeest

Inflection

Declension of gnu

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gnu	gnuen	gnuer	gnuerne
genitive	gnus	gnuens	gnuers	gnuernes

Finnish

Alternative forms

gnuu

Etymology

Borrowed from German Gnu, from Khoekhoe !nu:.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡnu(ː)/, [ˈɡnu(ː)]
Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation^(key): gnu

Noun

gnu

gnu, wildebeest (either of the two species of antelope in the genus Connochaetes)
Hyponyms: juovagnu, valkohäntägnu

Declension

Inflection of gnu (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		gnu	gnut
genitive		gnun	gnuiden gnuitten
partitive		gnuta	gnuita
illative		gnuhun	gnuihin
		singular	plural
nominative		gnu	gnut
accusative	nom.	gnu	gnut
accusative	gen.	gnun	gnut
genitive		gnun	gnuiden gnuitten
partitive		gnuta	gnuita
inessive		gnussa	gnuissa
elative		gnusta	gnuista
illative		gnuhun	gnuihin
adessive		gnulla	gnuilla
ablative		gnulta	gnuilta
allative		gnulle	gnuille
essive		gnuna	gnuina
translative		gnuksi	gnuiksi
abessive		gnutta	gnuitta
instructive		—	gnuin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of gnu (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		gnuni	gnuni
accusative	nom.	gnuni	gnuni
accusative	gen.	gnuni	gnuni
genitive		gnuni	gnuideni gnuitteni
partitive		gnutani	gnuitani
inessive		gnussani	gnuissani
elative		gnustani	gnuistani
illative		gnuhuni	gnuihini
adessive		gnullani	gnuillani
ablative		gnultani	gnuiltani
allative		gnulleni	gnuilleni
essive		gnunani	gnuinani
translative		gnukseni	gnuikseni
abessive		gnuttani	gnuittani
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	gnuineni

second-person singular possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		gnusi	gnusi
accusative	nom.	gnusi	gnusi
accusative	gen.	gnusi	gnusi
genitive		gnusi	gnuidesi gnuittesi
partitive		gnutasi	gnuitasi
inessive		gnussasi	gnuissasi
elative		gnustasi	gnuistasi
illative		gnuhusi	gnuihisi
adessive		gnullasi	gnuillasi
ablative		gnultasi	gnuiltasi
allative		gnullesi	gnuillesi
essive		gnunasi	gnuinasi
translative		gnuksesi	gnuiksesi
abessive		gnuttasi	gnuittasi
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	gnuinesi

first-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		gnumme	gnumme
accusative	nom.	gnumme	gnumme
accusative	gen.	gnumme	gnumme
genitive		gnumme	gnuidemme gnuittemme
partitive		gnutamme	gnuitamme
inessive		gnussamme	gnuissamme
elative		gnustamme	gnuistamme
illative		gnuhumme	gnuihimme
adessive		gnullamme	gnuillamme
ablative		gnultamme	gnuiltamme
allative		gnullemme	gnuillemme
essive		gnunamme	gnuinamme
translative		gnuksemme	gnuiksemme
abessive		gnuttamme	gnuittamme
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	gnuinemme

second-person plural possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		gnunne	gnunne
accusative	nom.	gnunne	gnunne
accusative	gen.	gnunne	gnunne
genitive		gnunne	gnuidenne gnuittenne
partitive		gnutanne	gnuitanne
inessive		gnussanne	gnuissanne
elative		gnustanne	gnuistanne
illative		gnuhunne	gnuihinne
adessive		gnullanne	gnuillanne
ablative		gnultanne	gnuiltanne
allative		gnullenne	gnuillenne
essive		gnunanne	gnuinanne
translative		gnuksenne	gnuiksenne
abessive		gnuttanne	gnuittanne
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	gnuinenne

third-person possessor
		singular	plural
nominative		gnunsa	gnunsa
accusative	nom.	gnunsa	gnunsa
accusative	gen.	gnunsa	gnunsa
genitive		gnunsa	gnuidensa gnuittensa
partitive		gnutaan gnutansa	gnuitaan gnuitansa
inessive		gnussaan gnussansa	gnuissaan gnuissansa
elative		gnustaan gnustansa	gnuistaan gnuistansa
illative		gnuhunsa	gnuihinsa
adessive		gnullaan gnullansa	gnuillaan gnuillansa
ablative		gnultaan gnultansa	gnuiltaan gnuiltansa
allative		gnulleen gnullensa	gnuilleen gnuillensa
essive		gnunaan gnunansa	gnuinaan gnuinansa
translative		gnukseen gnuksensa	gnuikseen gnuiksensa
abessive		gnuttaan gnuttansa	gnuittaan gnuittansa
instructive		—	—
comitative		—	gnuineen gnuinensa

Derived terms

gnuantilooppi
juovagnu (“Connochaetes taurinus, blue wildebeest, brindled gnu”)
valkohäntägnu (“Connochaetes gnou, black wildebeest, white-tailed gnu”)

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from French gnou, from Khoekhoe ǃnu:, likely onomatopoeic in origin.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): ^*/ˈɲu/^*^[1]
Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation: gnù

Noun

gnu m (invariable)

gnu
wildebeest, kokoon

References

^ gnu in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

Gnuer

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology

From an African language, via German Gnu.

Noun

gnu m (definite singular gnuen, indefinite plural gnuer, definite plural gnuene)

a gnu or wildebeest (large antelope)

References

“gnu” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

gnu

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

From German Gnu, from Afrikaans ghnoe. Ultimately Khoekhoe.

Noun

gnu m (definite singular gnuen, indefinite plural gnuar, definite plural gnuane)

a gnu or wildebeest (large antelope)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse gnúa. Cognate with Icelandic núa.

Verb

gnu (present tense gnur, past tense gnudde, past participle gnutt/gnudd, passive infinitive gnuast, present participle gnuande, imperative gnu)

References

“gnu” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

ung

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

gnu

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from German Gnu.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡnu/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -u
Syllabification: gnu

Noun

gnu n or f (indeclinable)

gnu, wildebeest (any antelope of the genus Connochaetes)
Synonym: antylopa gnu

Portuguese

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

gnu

Wikipedia ^pt

Etymology

Borrowed from French gnou.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡiˈnu/, /ˈɡnu/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡnu/, /ɡiˈnu/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡnu/, /ɡɨˈnu/

Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation: gnu

Noun

gnu m (plural gnus)

gnu

References

^ “gnu”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
^ “gnu”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French gnou.

Noun

gnu m (uncountable)

gnu, wildebeest

Declension

declension of gnu (singular only)

	singular
m gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) gnu	gnul
genitive/dative	(unui) gnu	gnului
vocative	gnule

[Lexico-1] 1.0 ^1.1 “gnu”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[2] Sue Butler (2020) “False patterns in English spelling”, in Rebel Without A Clause‎^[1], Macmillan, →ISBN: “The pronunciation [guh-noo] was popularised as a joke until we all heard that pronunciation so often that it seemed more familiar than [nu].”

[3] Flanders and Swann (lyrics and music) (1957) “The Gnu”: “If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame / And remarked "I h'ain't a h'elk, I'm a g-nu"”

[4] u in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

[5] “gnu”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024

[6] “gnu”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

[1]

[2]

[3]

[1]

[1]

[2]

gnu

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Inflection

Finnish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Italian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Further reading

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Noun

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Verb

References

Anagrams

Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Romanian

Etymology

Noun

Declension

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