gnu

(redirected from Gnus)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

gnu

(no͞o, nyo͞o)

Either of two large African antelopes (Connochaetes gnou or C. taurinus) having a drooping mane and beard, a long tufted tail, and curved horns in both sexes. Also called wildebeest.

[Probably from Dutch gnoe, from Xhosa i-ngu, white-tailed gnu, from San !nu, black wildebeest.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gnu

(nuː)

n, pl gnus or gnu

(Animals) either of two sturdy antelopes, Connochaetes taurinus (brindled gnu) or the much rarer C. gnou (white-tailed gnu), inhabiting the savannas of Africa, having an oxlike head and a long tufted tail. Also called: wildebeest

[C18: from Xhosa nqu]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gnu

(nu, nyu)

n., pl. gnus, (esp. collectively) gnu.

either of two stocky, oxlike African antelopes, the silvery gray Connochaetestaurinus or the black C. gnou.

Also called wildebeest.

[1770–80; Khoikhoi, first recorded as t'gnu]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

gnu - large African antelope having a head with horns like an ox and a long tufted tail

wildebeest

antelope - graceful Old World ruminant with long legs and horns directed upward and backward; includes gazelles; springboks; impalas; addax; gerenuks; blackbucks; dik-diks

Connochaetes, genus Connochaetes - African antelopes: gnus

Translations

Spanish / Español

Select a language:

ñu GNU

gnu

[nuː] N (gnus or gnu (pl)) → ñu m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

gnu

(nuː) – plurals gnus ~gnu – noun

a type of large African antelope. ñu

References in classic literature ?

Smith, two others, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the bos caffer -- as large as a full-grown bull, and the elan -- but little less, two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and several antelopes even larger than these latter animals.

View in context

But those who were gathered together shivered with fear when they heard their words, for they knew well that many a man would be switched with the gnu's tail before the sun sank once more.

For till this hour, when a man was swept with the gnu's tail of the Isanusi that was the instant of his death.

View in context

The trend to GNUs is not necessarily a new trend; what is significant is that it has recently become a popular option in resolving election disputes.

Expert comment: Why unity governments are formed

The pieces have been described as "quirky and ingenious" moving artworks which highlight recycling and ecological concerns and include Having A Whale Of A Time, created from welded steel and foam rubber and Canoodling Canoe Gnus, a 16ft Canadian canoe containing two gnus going for a romantic afternoon paddle.

Quirky sculptures of fabulous beasties

The local newspaper made it headline news: MARY CRIST MISSES AN HAPPY GNUS EAR!

'Quick, turn on for the gnu's headlines! '

Well, there are two terms you can use for when gnus get together.

Now, here is the gnus

In his article "No Gnus Is Good Gnus" in the February 2002 Word Ways, Jim Puder showed what might have happened to some famous palindromes if their authors had been "suffering from the gnus", for example, A man, a pung, a gnu--Panama.

Mixed-up classics

The fauna is strange indeed--predatory warlags, glacier worms that hunt hibernating creatures, and six-legged gnus used as beasts of burden.

Wolfwalker

see, the Duke of Cumberland and his men were clearing the Highlands and as well as the people they got rid of all our gnus."

Have I got gnus for you; ALL SYSTEMS LOGO FOR OUR EURO HERO

"Even more remarkable is the fact that it is most closely related to extinct species of Araucariaceae [a gnus of South American and Australian pines] found in the fossil record in southern Australia about 50 to 150 million years ago."