gnu

Where does the word "gnu" come from? It comes from Khoikhoi !nu, passing through Afrikaans/Dutch before entering English (1700s-1800s).

Gnu’s story begins in Khoikhoi: !nu meant “wildebeest.” An imitative name for the antelope's snorting call. By 1700s, the word had taken hold in Afrikaans/Dutch as gnoe. A Khoikhoi name recorded by Dutch settlers at the Cape. It reached English by 1700s-1800s as gnu. Captain Cook's naturalists and later travellers spread the word. Today, gnu means a large African antelope, also called a wildebeest.

1. Stage 1 · Khoikhoi · ancient !nu "wildebeest", an imitative name for the antelope's snorting call.
2. Stage 2 · Afrikaans/Dutch · 1700s gnoe "wildebeest", a Khoikhoi name recorded by Dutch settlers at the Cape.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1700s-1800s gnu "a large African antelope, the wildebeest", Captain Cook's naturalists and later travellers spread the word.