Origin
- The common name= giraffe in English
- The word giraffe is from Arabic dialectal "Zarafa", which means one who walks swiftly.
- As a verb the word means to jump or hurry.
- It has also been traced to an Ethiopian word that denotes graceful one.
- Camelopardalis = camel (camelus), leopard (pardus); Latin. Centuries ago, it was thought that giraffes were part camel and part leopard.
- Earliest giraffid: Palaeotragus from the Miocene of Asia, approximately 20 million years ago. Looked very similar to the modern okapi -medium sized, with normal length limbs and neck, and two small, bony horns.
- Local names: Twiga (Swahili), Nduida (Kikuyu), Oloodo-kirrangata (Masai).