Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various large African antelopes of the genus Alcelaphus, having a tan to reddish-brown coat, a long narrow head, and ringed, outward-curving horns.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See hartbeest.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun large African antelope with lyre-shaped horns that curve backward.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A type of grassland antelope, Alcelaphus bucelaphus, native to parts of Africa

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a large African antelope with lyre-shaped horns that curve backward

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Obsolete Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch, variant of hertebeest : hert, deer; see ker- in Indo-European roots + beest, beast (from Old French beste; see beast).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dutch hert ("hart") + beest ("beast").

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Examples

  • We had killed an antelope called a hartebeest, and, with our muskets on our shoulders, were running to secure it.

    Masterman Ready The Wreck of the "Pacific" Frederick Marryat 1820

  • They were antelopes of course -- that species known among Cape colonists as the "hartebeest" (_Acronotus caama_).

    The Bush Boys History and Adventures of a Cape Farmer and his Family Mayne Reid 1850

  • According to Global Post, van der Spuy was taken out by a red hartebeest, a type of antelope that can weigh as much as 330 pounds.

    Evan Van Der Spuy, South African Cyclist, Hit By Antelope While Mountain Biking (VIDEO) 2011

  • Common in the reserve are lion, hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus, spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta and jackal Canis aureus.

    Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania 2009

  • Within the St. Floris region, the most abundant large mammals seem to be kob Kobus kob, hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus and grey duiker Sylvicapra grimmia, with other fairly abundant ungulates including waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, oribi Ourebia ourebi, topi Damaliscus lunatus, reedbuck Redunca redunca, roan antelope Hippotragus equines and giant eland Taurotragus derbianus; also buffalo Syncerus caffer, warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus and hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius.

    Manovo-Gounda-St Floris National Park, Central African Republic 2009

  • In addition, it reduces the habitat for many mammals such as greater kudu, hartebeest, sable and roan antelope, as well as birds that rely on the woodland-grassland interface for food or shelter.

    Zambezian flooded grasslands 2008

  • On the grasslands are eland, lesser kudu Tragelaphus imberbis, roan antelope Hippotragus equines, oribi Oreibia oreibi, Grant's gazelle Gazella granti, hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus, steenbock Raphicerus campestris, topi and oryx Oryx gazella, also buffalo Syncerus caffer.

    Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 2008

  • Wildebeest and hartebeest, which spend the wetter months along the boundary between Ghanzi and Kgalagadi (in the Kalahari Xeric Savanna ecoregion), move northeast towards the Central Kalahari Game Reserve during the dry season.

    Zambezian halophytics 2008

  • Animals like the blue wildebeest and hartebeest, not truly adapted to aridity, must migrate to obtain food and water.

    Kalahari xeric savanna 2008

  • Endangered mammals include the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), Senegal hartebeest (Alcelaphus bucelaphus), elephants (Loxodanta africana) and one of the three manatee species (Trichechus senegalensis).

    Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4)~ Chapter 6 2008

Comments

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  • Scientific name: Alcelaphus caama.

    December 15, 2007

  • Usage on bongo.

    September 22, 2008