gnu
NOO · noun
Origin
English "gnu" comes from Dutch "gnoe", which was borrowed from Khoekhoe "ǃnu:". The Khoekhoe word's ultimate origin is unknown, but it's thought to be onomatopoeic, imitating the animal's grunting call.
This is Curio: one word's origin story, every morning. No feed, no backlog.
One short email each morning. Free; stop anytime. See a sample →
Journey
The word passed fairly directly from Khoekhoe through Dutch into English, with no major shift in meaning along the way — it has always named the same grunting antelope.