Word Study
giraffe
CIDE DICTIONARY
giraffe, n. [F. girafe, Sp. girafa, from Ar. zurāfa, zarāfa.].
An African ruminant (Giraffa camelopardalis formerly Camelopardalis giraffa ) related to the deers and antelopes, but placed in a family (Giraffidae ) by itself; the camelopard. It is the tallest of quadriped animals, being sometimes twenty feet from the hoofs to the top of the head. Its neck is very long, and its fore legs are much longer than its hind legs. There are three types, having different patterns of spots on the pelt and different territories: the Reticulated Giraffe , the Masai Giraffe , and the Uganda Giraffe . Intermediate crosses are also observed. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
giraffe, n. (pl. same or giraffes) a ruminant mammal, Giraffa camelopardalis of Africa, the tallest living animal, with a long neck and forelegs and a skin of dark patches separated by lighter lines.
Etymology
F girafe, It. giraffa, ult. f. Arab. zarafa
THESAURUS
giraffe
Cape elk, Virginia deer, antelope, buck, camel, camelopard, caribou, deer, deerlet, doe, dromedary, eland, elk, fallow deer, fawn, gazelle, gnu, hart, hartebeest, hind, kaama, moose, mule deer, musk deer, okapi, red deer, reindeer, roe, roe deer, roebuck, springbok, stag, wildebeestROGET THESAURUS
giraffe
Height
N height, altitude, elevation, eminence, pitch, loftiness, sublimity, tallness, stature, procerity, prominence, colossus, giant, grenadier, giraffe, camelopard, mount, mountain, hill alto, butte, monticle, fell, knap, cape, headland, foreland, promontory, ridge, hog's back, dune, rising ground, vantage ground, down, moor, moorland, Alp, uplands, highlands, heights, knob, loma, pena, picacho, tump, knoll, hummock, hillock, barrow, mound, mole, steeps, bluff, cliff, craig, tor, peak, pike, clough, escarpment, edge, ledge, brae, dizzy height, tower, pillar, column, obelisk, monument, steeple, spire, minaret, campanile, turret, dome, cupola, skyscraper, pole, pikestaff, maypole, flagstaff, top mast, topgallant mast, ceiling, high water, high tide, flood tide, spring tide, altimetry, batophobia, satellite, spy-in-the-sky, high, elevated, eminent, exalted, lofty, tall, gigantic, Patagonian, towering, beetling, soaring, hanging (gardens), elevated, upper, highest, high reaching, insessorial, perching, upland, moorland, hilly, knobby, mountainous, alpine, subalpine, heaven kissing, cloudtopt, cloudcapt, cloudtouching, aerial, overhanging, incumbent, overlying, superincumbent, supernatant, superimposed, prominent, tall as a maypole, tall as a poplar, tall as a steeple, lanky, on high, high up, aloft, up, above, aloof, overhead, airwind, upstairs, abovestairs, in the clouds, on tiptoe, on stilts, on the shoulders of, over head and ears, breast high, over, upwards, from top to bottom, e meglio cader dalle finistre che dal tetto.For further exploring for "giraffe" in Webster Dictionary Online