`zebra'

[Diogo Almeida]

>I note that Collins English Dictionary (1979) s.v. zebra says [C16: via
>Ita;ian from Old Spanish: wild ass, probably from Vulgar Latin
>*<eciferus> wild horse, from Latin <equiferus> from <equus> horse +
><ferus> wild] which is no doubt the Romance etymology mentioned before.

><equiferus> is attested in Pliny (2 passages) according to Lewis &
>Short, but I've a hunch it's a pretty odd kind of compound. Are [N+A] N
>compounds normal in Latin? How secure is this word in Latin? Might we
>have some folk etymology here?

I've looked it up in the "Dicionario Etimolsgico Nova Fronteira da
Lmngua Portuguesa" by Anttnio Geraldo da Cunha, and it is said there
that "zebra" is from unknown etymology, maybe from Vulgar Latin
<*eciferus> (Classical Latin <equiferus>). In Old Portuguese there is
an attested <zevra> in the XIII century, as a feminine form of
<zevro> or <zebro>, also from the XIII century, which meant "wild
horse" (cavalo selvagem). There is also <zeura>, that dates from the
XVI century (with the same meaning, I believe).

Kind Regards,
Diogo A. de A. e Almeida