Definitions

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

  • noun An equid (Equus quagga subsp. quagga) of southern Africa, extinct since the late 1800s. It was brownish with stripes only on the head, neck, and front of the body.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An African solidungulate quadruped of the horse family, Equus or Hippotigris quagga, related to the ass and zebra, but not fully striped like the latter, not being banded on the hind quarters and legs.
  • noun Burchell's zebra, Equus or Hippotigris burchelli, closely related to the above, but striped throughout like the zebra: more fully called bonte-quagga. See cut under dauw.

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

  • noun (Zoöl.) A South African wild ass (Equus quagga syn. Hippotigris quagga). The upper parts are reddish brown, becoming paler behind and behind and beneath, with dark stripes on the face, neck, and fore part of the body. The species became extinct in the late 1800's, largely due to excessive hunting.

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

  • noun A southern African subspecies of zebra, Equus quagga quagga, extinct since 1883. The upper parts are reddish brown, becoming paler behind and beneath, with dark stripes on the face, neck, and fore part of the body. Taxonomic name: Equus quagga.

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

  • noun mammal of South Africa that resembled a zebra; extinct since late 19th century

Etymologies

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

[Earlier Afrikaans (now spelled kwagga), from Khoikhoi !ua-xa, perhaps imitative of its braying.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dutch quagga ( > Afrikaans kwagga), probably from Haiǁom/Nama ǁkoaah, apparently of imitative origin.

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Examples

  • Much is made of whether it is a "real" quagga or not, but according to Jonathan Kingdon, in Volume 3 B of his magisterial 7- volume East African Mammals, the quagga is a mere race, conspecific with the common zebra.

    Back to the Blog! 2006

  • An old joke among the Dutch, the first Europeans to settle in South Africa, was that the quagga was a zebra that had forgotten its pajama pants.

    Quagga-breeding Jenny Davidson 2006

  • Much is made of whether it is a "real" quagga or not, but according to Jonathan Kingdon, in Volume 3 B of his magisterial 7- volume East African Mammals, the quagga is a mere race, conspecific with the common zebra.

    Archive 2006-01-01 2006

  • The quagga was a horselike animal native to southern Africa that went extinct in 1883.

    Quagga-breeding Jenny Davidson 2006

  • Fourth, the "quagga"; and fifth, the undetermined species known as the "white zebra," so called from its pale yellow, or Isabella colour.

    Popular Adventure Tales Mayne Reid 1850

  • Thayer's talk will bring board members up to speed regarding current non-native species that pose a threat to the ecological balance of the basin, while also discussing techniques designed to prevent aggressive species such as quagga and zebra mussels from entering the lake.

    The Record-Courier - Top Stories by Matthew Renda mrenda@tahoedailytribune.com 2010

  • Thayer's talk will bring board members up to speed regarding current non-native species that pose a threat to the ecological balance of the basin, while also discussing techniques designed to prevent aggressive species such as quagga and zebra mussels from entering the lake.

    Tahoe Daily Tribune - Top Stories By Matthew Renda mrenda@tahoedailytribune.com 2010

  • Tim Lampe demonstrates how to check trailer tires and the surrounding areas for invasive aquatic species, such as quagga and zebra mussels, which could come from using boats in other bodies of water.

    Nevada Appeal - Top Stories By Annie Flanzraich Nevada Appeal News Service 2009

  • The sticker fees, which help fight invasive species such as quagga and zebra mussels, are

    IdahoStatesman.com News Updates 2009

  • When you have a temperature of, like, 39 degrees and you're at a depth where there's no wave action or current, the only thing that can damage the wood would be zebra or quagga mussels as they collect and grow in big clumps and fall off, Kennard said.

    Wreck of Canadian schooner found in Lake Ontario 2011

Comments

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  • From "Au Tombeau de Charles Fourier" by Guy Davenport

    January 19, 2010

  • Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010

    September 29, 2010