okapi

See also: Okapi

English

WOTD – 3 March 2022

Etymology

An okapi (Okapia johnstoni).

Borrowed from Mvuba okapi.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə(ʊ)ˈkɑːpi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /oʊˈkɑpi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (General South African) IPA^(key): /əʊˈkɑːpi/
• Hyphenation: oka‧pi

Noun

okapi (plural okapi or okapis)

1. A large ruminant mammal, of species Okapia johnstoni, found in the rainforests of the Congo, related to the giraffe but with a much shorter neck, a reddish-brown coat, and zebra-like stripes on its hindquarters. [from early 20th c.]

   Synonyms: Congolese giraffe, forest giraffe, zebra giraffe

   • 1901 September, Harry [i.e., Henry] H[amilton] Johnston, “The Okapi: The Newly-discovered Beast Living in Central Africa”, in McClure’s Magazine, volume XVII, number 5, New York, N.Y., London: S[amuel] S[idney] McClure Co., →OCLC, pages 498 and 499:

     [page 498, column 1] [I]n leading them [African Pygmies] back to the forests where they dwelt, I obtained much information from them on the subject of the horse-like animal which they called the "Okapi." […] [page 499, column 1] The coloration of the Okapi is quite extraordinary. […] The hind quarters, hind and fore legs are either snowy white or pale cream color, touched here and there with orange. They are boldly marked, however, with purple-black stripes and splodges, which give that zebra-like appearance to the limbs of the Okapi that caused the first imperfect account of it to indicate the discovery of a new striped horse.

   • 1902 November 18, C[harles] I[mmanuel] Forsyth Major, “On a Specimen of the Okapi Lately Received at Brussels”, in Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London, volume I, London: […] [Zoological] Society [of London]; Messrs. Longmans, Green, and Co., […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 344:

     Personally I esteem it a more fascinating and a more important task to investigate the relations of the Okapi with the Giraffe on the one hand, and its fossil relatives on the other.

   • 1904, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “Reginald’s Christmas Revel”, in Reginald, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 98:

     [O]ne day I quite modestly gave the dimensions of an okapi I had shot in the Lincolnshire fens. The Major turned a beautiful Tyrian scarlet (I remember thinking at the time that I should like my bathroom hung in that colour), and I think that at that moment he almost found it in his heart to dislike me.

   • 1915 August 26, H[enry] H[amilton] Johnston, “Life Habits of the Okapi”, in Nature: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science, volume 95, number 2391, London: Macmillan and Co.; New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 714, column 1:

     Dr. [Cuthbert] Christy adds his testimony to that of his predecessors in the same quest as to the "invisibility" of the okapi, whose markings and coloration—pace Colonel Theodore Roosevelt—so break up the surface of its large body and long legs as to cause it to fuse with the dark-brown, russet, while and yellow-white of the twigs and stems and leaf-stalks amongst which it moves. He also points out that the hoofs of the okapi are so closely pressed together that the footprint is almost like that of the single-toed donkey.

   • 1922 May, T[homas] Alexander Barns, “To the Game-haunted Solitudes of Ruchuru and Ruindi Plains”, in The Wonderland of the Eastern Congo: The Region of the Snow-crowned Volcanoes, the Pygmies, the Giant Gorilla and the Okapi, London, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, page 99:

     I also took out a licence to shoot small game, costing fifty francs, which can be obtained on the spot, and under which I was able to shoot all kinds of game, excepting elephants, chimpanzis, gorillas and okapis.

Hypernyms

• Giraffidae

Coordinate terms

• Giraffa
• giraffe

Translations

Okapia johnstoni

• Afrikaans: okapi
• Armenian: օկապի (ōkapi)
• Assamese: অকাপী (okapi)
• Asturian: ocapi (ast)
• Basque: okapi (eu)
• Bulgarian: окапи (bg) n (okapi)
• Catalan: okapi m, ocapi m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 㺢㹢狓 (fok³ gaa¹ pei⁴)

  Mandarin: 㺢㹢狓 (zh) (huōjiāpí, huòjiāpí)

• Czech: okapi (cs) f
• Danish: okapi
• Dutch: okapi (nl) m
• Esperanto: okapio
• Estonian: okaapi (et)
• Finnish: okapi (fi)
• French: okapi (fr) m
• Galician: ocapi m
• Georgian: ოკაპი (oḳaṗi)
• German: Okapi (de) n
• Greek: οκάπι (el) n (okápi), οκαπία (el) f (okapía)
• Hebrew: אוקאפי (okapi), אוקפי (okapi)
• Hindi: ओकापी (okāpī)
• Hungarian: okapi (hu)
• Icelandic: ókapi
• Ido: okapio (io)
• Indonesian: okapi
• Italian: okapi (it) m
• Japanese: オカピ (ja) (okapi)
• Korean: 오카피 (okapi)
• Latvian: okapi
• Lingala: mondonga
• Lithuanian: okapija (lt)
• Malagasy: ôkapy
• Malay: okapi
• Malayalam: ഓകാപി (ōkāpi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: okapi

  Nynorsk: okapi

• Polish: okapi (pl) f
• Portuguese: ocapi (pt) m
• Romanian: okapi (ro) f
• Russian: ока́пи (ru) m (okápi)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ока̀пи m

  Roman: okàpi (sh) m

• Slovak: okapia
• Slovene: okapi (sl)
• Spanish: okapi (es) m, ocapi m
• Swahili: okapi
• Swedish: okapi (sv)
• Sylheti: ꠅꠇꠣꠙꠤ (oxafi)
• Tagalog: okapi
• Tamil: ஓக்காப்பி (ōkkāppi)
• Thai: โอคาพี
• Turkish: okapi (tr)
• Ukrainian: ока́пі m (okápi)
• Vietnamese: hươu đùi vằn
• Welsh: ocapi

Further reading

• okapi on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Okapia johnstoni on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• Okapia johnstoni on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Czech

Alternative forms

• okapia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈokapɪ]
• Rhymes: -apɪ

Noun

okapi f or m anim

1. okapi (large ruminant mammal)

Declension

when masculine:

Declension of okapi (masculine animate in -i/-y)

	singular	plural
nominative	okapi	okapiové, okapi
genitive	okapiho	okapiů, okapich
dative	okapimu	okapiům, okapim
accusative	okapiho	okapie, okapi
vocative	okapi	okapiové, okapi
locative	okapim	okapiích, okapich
instrumental	okapim	okapii, okapimi

Indeclinable when feminine.

Further reading

• “okapi”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “okapi”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

From Mvuba okapi.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: oka‧pi

Noun

okapi m (plural okapi's, diminutive okapietje n)

1. okapi

Finnish

Etymology

From English okapi, from Mvuba okapi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈokɑpi/, [ˈo̞kɑ̝pi]
• Rhymes: -okɑpi
• Hyphenation^(key): oka‧pi

Noun

okapi

1. okapi

Declension

Inflection of okapi (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		okapi	okapit
genitive		okapin	okapien
partitive		okapia	okapeja
illative		okapiin	okapeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		okapi	okapit
accusative	nom.	okapi	okapit
	gen.	okapin
genitive		okapin	okapien
partitive		okapia	okapeja
inessive		okapissa	okapeissa
elative		okapista	okapeista
illative		okapiin	okapeihin
adessive		okapilla	okapeilla
ablative		okapilta	okapeilta
allative		okapille	okapeille
essive		okapina	okapeina
translative		okapiksi	okapeiksi
abessive		okapitta	okapeitta
instructive		—	okapein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of okapi (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative okapini okapini accusative nom. okapini okapini gen. okapini genitive okapini okapieni partitive okapiani okapejani inessive okapissani okapeissani elative okapistani okapeistani illative okapiini okapeihini adessive okapillani okapeillani ablative okapiltani okapeiltani allative okapilleni okapeilleni essive okapinani okapeinani translative okapikseni okapeikseni abessive okapittani okapeittani instructive — — comitative — okapeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative okapisi okapisi accusative nom. okapisi okapisi gen. okapisi genitive okapisi okapiesi partitive okapiasi okapejasi inessive okapissasi okapeissasi elative okapistasi okapeistasi illative okapiisi okapeihisi adessive okapillasi okapeillasi ablative okapiltasi okapeiltasi allative okapillesi okapeillesi essive okapinasi okapeinasi translative okapiksesi okapeiksesi abessive okapittasi okapeittasi instructive — — comitative — okapeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative okapimme okapimme accusative nom. okapimme okapimme gen. okapimme genitive okapimme okapiemme partitive okapiamme okapejamme inessive okapissamme okapeissamme elative okapistamme okapeistamme illative okapiimme okapeihimme adessive okapillamme okapeillamme ablative okapiltamme okapeiltamme allative okapillemme okapeillemme essive okapinamme okapeinamme translative okapiksemme okapeiksemme abessive okapittamme okapeittamme instructive — — comitative — okapeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative okapinne okapinne accusative nom. okapinne okapinne gen. okapinne genitive okapinne okapienne partitive okapianne okapejanne inessive okapissanne okapeissanne elative okapistanne okapeistanne illative okapiinne okapeihinne adessive okapillanne okapeillanne ablative okapiltanne okapeiltanne allative okapillenne okapeillenne essive okapinanne okapeinanne translative okapiksenne okapeiksenne abessive okapittanne okapeittanne instructive — — comitative — okapeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative okapinsa okapinsa accusative nom. okapinsa okapinsa gen. okapinsa genitive okapinsa okapiensa partitive okapiaan okapiansa okapejaan okapejansa inessive okapissaan okapissansa okapeissaan okapeissansa elative okapistaan okapistansa okapeistaan okapeistansa illative okapiinsa okapeihinsa adessive okapillaan okapillansa okapeillaan okapeillansa ablative okapiltaan okapiltansa okapeiltaan okapeiltansa allative okapilleen okapillensa okapeilleen okapeillensa essive okapinaan okapinansa okapeinaan okapeinansa translative okapikseen okapiksensa okapeikseen okapeiksensa abessive okapittaan okapittansa okapeittaan okapeittansa instructive — — comitative — okapeineen okapeinensa

Further reading

• “okapi”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• poika, pokia

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.ka.pi/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

okapi m (plural okapis)

1. okapi

Further reading

• “okapi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Japanese

Romanization

okapi

1. Rōmaji transcription of オカピ

Polish

okapi

Etymology

Borrowed from Mvuba okapi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔˈka.pi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -api
• Syllabification: o‧ka‧pi

Noun

okapi m animal or f or n (indeclinable)

1. okapi (Okapia johnstoni)

Further reading

• okapi in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• okapi in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Alternative forms

• ocapi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oˈkapi/ [oˈka.pi]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -api
• Syllabification: o‧ka‧pi

Noun

okapi m (plural okapis)

1. okapi

Further reading

• “okapi”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10