GNU, n. An animal of South Africa, which in its domesticated state
resembles a horse, a buffalo and a stag. In its wild condition it is
something like a thunderbolt, an earthquake and a cyclone.
A hunter from Kew caught a distant view
Of a peacefully meditative gnu,
And he said: "I'll pursue, and my hands imbrue
In its blood at a closer interview."
But that beast did ensue and the hunter it threw
O'er the top of a palm that adjacent grew;
And he said as he flew: "It is well I withdrew
Ere, losing my temper, I wickedly slew
That really meritorious gnu."
Jarn Leffer
Source: THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993)
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Gnu \Gnu\, n. [Hottentot gnu, or nju: cf. F. gnou.]
(Zool.)
One of two species of large South African antelopes of the
genus Catoblephas, having a mane and bushy tail, and curved
horns in both sexes. [Written also gnoo.]
[1913 Webster]
Note: The common gnu or wildebeest (Catoblephas gnu) is
plain brown; the brindled gnu or blue wildebeest (C.
gorgon) is larger, with transverse stripes of black on
the neck and shoulders.
[1913 Webster]
Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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33 Moby Thesaurus words for "gnu":
Cape elk, Virginia deer, antelope, buck, camel, camelopard,
caribou, deer, deerlet, doe, dromedary, eland, elk, fallow deer,
fawn, gazelle, giraffe, hart, hartebeest, hind, kaama, moose,
mule deer, musk deer, okapi, red deer, reindeer, roe, roe deer,
roebuck, springbok, stag, wildebeest
Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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Gnu \Gnu\, n. [Hottentot gnu, or nju: cf. F. gnou.]
(Zo["o]l.)
One of two species of large South African antelopes of the
genus Catoblephas, having a mane and bushy tail, and curved
horns in both sexes. [Written also gnoo.]
Note: The common gnu or wildebeest (Catoblephas gnu) is
plain brown; the brindled gnu or blue wildebeest (C.
gorgon) is larger, with transverse stripes of black on
the neck and shoulders.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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