quagga

Where does the word "quagga" come from? It comes from Khoikhoi quacha, passing through Afrikaans before entering English (1800s).

Quagga’s story begins in Khoikhoi: quacha meant “a zebra-like wild equine.” Named for the sound of its bark-like call. By 1700s, the word had taken hold in Afrikaans as quagga. Cape Dutch settlers adopted the Khoikhoi name for the striped plains animal. It reached English by 1800s as quagga. Khoikhoi imitation of the animal's call; the last quagga died at Amsterdam zoo in 1883. Today, quagga means an extinct subspecies of plains zebra, partially striped, that once lived in South Africa; the name also now labels the invasive quagga mussel.

1. Stage 1 · Khoikhoi · 1600s quacha "a zebra-like wild equine", named for the sound of its bark-like call.
2. Stage 2 · Afrikaans · 1700s quagga "the striped, now-extinct plains equine", Cape Dutch settlers adopted the Khoikhoi name for the striped plains animal.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s quagga "an extinct subspecies of plains zebra", Khoikhoi imitation of the animal's call; the last quagga died at Amsterdam zoo in 1883.