antelope

antelope
\ \ [15] Antelope comes from medieval Greek antholops. In the Middle Ages it was applied to an outlandish but figmentary beast, in the words of the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘haunting the banks of the Euphrates, very savage, hard to catch, having long saw-like horns with which they cut in pieces and broke all “engines” and even cut down trees’. The term was subsequently used for a heraldic animal, but it was not until the early 17th century that it was applied, by the naturalist Edward Topsell, to the swift-running deerlike animal for which it is now used.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Antelope — are ruminant hoofed mammals of the family Bovidae in the order of even toed ungulates. These animals are spread relatively evenly throughout the various subfamilies of Bovidae and many are more closely related to cows or goats than to each other …   Wikipedia

  • Antelope — Ist die Bezeichnung mehrerer Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Antelope (Kalifornien) Antelope (Kansas) Antelope (Montana) Antelope (New Mexico) Antelope (North Dakota) Antelope (Oregon) Antelope (South Dakota) Antelope (Texas) Antelope (Wyoming)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Antelope — Antelope, MT U.S. Census Designated Place in Montana Population (2000): 43 Housing Units (2000): 24 Land area (2000): 0.080714 sq. miles (0.209049 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.080714 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • ANTELOPE — ANTELOPE. In ancient times various species of antelope of the group Hippotraginae existed in Ereẓ Israel and surrounding countries. They have completely disappeared from Israel and are found only in the Arabian Peninsula and in Africa. Sundry… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Antelope — An te*lope ([a^]n t[ e]*l[=o]p), n. [OF. antelop, F. antilope, from Gr. anqo lops, lopos, Eustathius, Hexa[ e]m., p. 36, the origin of which is unknown.] (Zo[ o]l.) One of a group of ruminant quadrupeds, intermediate between the deer and the goat …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Antelope, MT — U.S. Census Designated Place in Montana Population (2000): 43 Housing Units (2000): 24 Land area (2000): 0.080714 sq. miles (0.209049 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.080714 sq. miles (0.209049… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Antelope, OR — U.S. city in Oregon Population (2000): 59 Housing Units (2000): 41 Land area (2000): 0.505163 sq. miles (1.308366 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.505163 sq. miles (1.308366 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Antelope, SD — U.S. Census Designated Place in South Dakota Population (2000): 867 Housing Units (2000): 233 Land area (2000): 2.283480 sq. miles (5.914186 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.008334 sq. miles (0.021586 sq. km) Total area (2000): 2.291814 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • antelope — [an′tə lōp΄] n. pl. antelopes or antelope [ME & OFr antelop, a fabulous horned animal < ML antalopus < MGr antholops, deer] 1. a) any of a group of swift, bovid ruminants usually living in wild herds on the plains of Africa and Asia,… …   English World dictionary

  • antelope — (n.) early 15c., from O.Fr. antelop, from M.L. ant(h)alopus (11c.), from Gk. antholops (attested in Eusebius of Antioch, c.336 C.E.), a fabulous animal haunting the banks of the Euphrates, very savage, hard to catch and having long saw like horns …   Etymology dictionary

  • antelope — ► NOUN ▪ a swift running deer like animal with upward pointing horns, native to Africa and Asia. ORIGIN Greek antholops (originally the name of a fierce mythical creature) …   English terms dictionary

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