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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
a few gnus
Etymology
Borrowed from Khoekhoe ǃnu: , likely onomatopoeic of the grunt-type noise of the gnu.
Pronunciation
Noun
gnu (plural gnus or gnu )
A large antelope of the genus Connochaetes , native to Africa , having curved horns .
Synonym: wildebeest
Usage notes
Pronunciation with initial /ɡ/ popularized as a joke, in particular through The Gnu Song .
Derived terms
Translations
large antelope of the genus Connochaetes
Afrikaans: wildebees (af)
Arabic: نَوّ m ( naww )
Assamese: নু পহু ( nu pohu )
Asturian: ñu (ast) m
Avar: гну ( gnu )
Azerbaijani: qnu
Bashkir: гну ( gnu )
Basque: ñu (eu)
Breton: gnou
Bulgarian: гну ( gnu )
Burmese: ဆတ်ကျွဲ (my) ( hcatkywai: )
Catalan: nyu m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 牛羚 ( niúlíng ) , 角馬 / 角马 ( jiǎomǎ )
Cornish: bualgarow
Czech: pakůň (cs) m
Danish: gnu (da) c
Dutch: gnoe (nl) m
Esperanto: gnuo
Faroese: gnýur m
Finnish: gnu (fi) , gnuu (fi)
French: gnou (fr) m
Galician: ñu (gl)
Georgian: გნუ ( gnu )
German: Gnu (de) n
Greek: γκνου (el) n ( gknou )
Hebrew: גנו m ( g'nu )
Hindi: विल्डबीस्ट ( vilḍabīsṭ )
Hungarian: gnú (hu)
Icelandic: gnýr (is) m
Indonesian: wildebes , gnu
Irish: gnú m
Italian: gnu (it) m , kokoon m
Japanese: ヌー (ja) ( nū ) , 牛氈鹿 ( ウシカモシカ , ushikamoshika)
Javanese: gnu
Kabyle: agnu
Korean: 누 (ko) ( nu )
Kyrgyz: гну ( gnu )
Latvian: gnu
Lezgi: гну ( gnu )
Lithuanian: gnu , antilopės gnu
Macedonian: гну n ( gnu )
Malagasy: gno (mg)
Malay: gnu
Malayalam: വിൽഡെബീസ്റ്റ് ( vilḍebīsṟṟŭ )
Mari:
Eastern Mari: гну ( gnu )
Navajo: jádí dághaaʼígíí
North Frisian: gnuus
Northern Sotho: kgokong
Norwegian:
Bokmål: gnu (no) m
Nynorsk: gnu m
Occitan: gno
Polish: gnu (pl) n or f , antylopa gnu f
Portuguese: gnu (pt) m
Punjabi: ਵਿਲਡਬੀਸਟ ( vilḍabīsaṭ ) , ਗ੍ਨੂ ( gnū )
Quechua: ñu
Romanian: gnu (ro) m
Romansch: gnu m
Russian: гну (ru) m or f ( gnu ) , антило́па-гну f ( antilópa-gnu )
Shona: ngongoni
Slovene: gnu (sl) m
Sorbian:
Upper Sorbian: gnu m
Spanish: ñu (es) m
Swahili: nyumbu (sw) , mbogo (sw)
Swedish: gnu (sv) c
Tagalog: nyu , gnu
Tatar: гну ( gnu )
Turkish: gnu
Udmurt: гну ( gnu )
Uzbek: gnu
Vietnamese: linh dương đầu bò
References
↑ 1.0 1.1 “gnu ”, in Lexico , Dictionary.com ; Oxford University Press , 2019–2022 .
^ Sue Butler (2020 ) “False patterns in English spelling”, in Rebel Without A Clause , Macmillan, →ISBN : “The pronunciation [guh-noo] was popularised as a joke until we all heard that pronunciation so often that it seemed more familiar than [nu]. ”
^ Flanders and Swann (lyrics and music) (1957 ) “The Gnu Song ”: “If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame / And remarked "I h'ain't a h'elk, I'm a g-nu " ”
Further reading
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
From German Gnu , from Afrikaans ghnoe , from Bantu .
Pronunciation
Noun
gnu c (singular definite gnuen , plural indefinite gnuer )
gnu , wildebeest
Inflection
Finnish
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from German Gnu , from Khoekhoe !nu: .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ˈɡnu(ː)/ ,
Rhymes: -u
Syllabification(key ) : gnu
Noun
gnu
gnu , wildebeest ( antelope of the genus Connochaetes )
black wildebeest , white-tailed gnu , Connochaetes gnou ( large antelope native to south Africa )
Synonym: valkohäntägnu
blue wildebeest , brindled gnu , Connochaetes taurinus ( large antelope native to eastern Africa )
Synonym: juovagnu
Declension
Derived terms
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from French gnou , from Khoekhoe ǃnu: , likely onomatopoeic in origin.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : * /ˈɲu/ *
Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation: gnù
Noun
gnu m (invariable )
gnu
wildebeest , kokoon
References
Further reading
gnu in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
gnu in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
gnu in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica , De Agostini Scuola Spa
gnu in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti , Olivetti Media Communication
gnu in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore
gnu in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line , Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From an African language, via German Gnu .
Noun
gnu m (definite singular gnuen , indefinite plural gnuer , definite plural gnuene )
a gnu or wildebeest (large antelope )
References
“gnu” in The Bokmål Dictionary .
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From German Gnu , from Afrikaans ghnoe . Ultimately Khoekhoe .
Noun
gnu m (definite singular gnuen , indefinite plural gnuar , definite plural gnuane )
a gnu or wildebeest (large antelope )
Etymology 2
From Old Norse gnúa . Cognate with Icelandic núa .
Verb
gnu (present tense gnur , past tense gnudde , past participle gnutt /gnudd , passive infinitive gnuast , present participle gnuande , imperative gnu )
( transitive ) to rub hard
( transitive ) to compress , crush
( intransitive ) to work hard and evenly
( intransitive ) to nag
References
“gnu” in The Nynorsk Dictionary .
Anagrams
Polish
gnu
Etymology
Borrowed from German Gnu .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ɡnu/
Rhymes: -u
Syllabification: gnu
Noun
gnu n or f (indeclinable )
gnu , wildebeest ( any antelope of the genus Connochaetes )
Synonym: antylopa gnu
Further reading
gnu in Wielki słownik języka polskiego , Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
gnu in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from French gnou .
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -u
Hyphenation: gnu
Noun
gnu m (plural gnus )
gnu
References
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French gnou .
Noun
gnu m (uncountable )
gnu , wildebeest
Declension
declension of gnu (singular only)
singular
m gender
indefinite articulation
definite articulation
nominative/accusative
(un) gnu
gnul
genitive/dative
(unui) gnu
gnului
vocative
gnule