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Ojalá
Words
Certain: The standard etymology in the RAE dictionary and in Corriente; no serious doubt.Plants & animals · Everyday

jirafa

giraffemamífero africano de cuello muy largo

Comes from Arabic

زَرَافَة

zarāfa

“the giraffe”«la jirafa»

Arabic today says

زَرَافَة

zarāfa

And it still does

The article

It came in without the article.

The story

It came via Italian giraffa, which took it from Arabic zarāfa. Europe got to know the animal through gifts from Egyptian sultans.Llegó por el italiano giraffa, que la tomó del árabe zarāfa. Europa conoció al animal por los regalos de sultanes egipcios.

In a sentence

La jirafa come hojas de los árboles altos.

The giraffe eats leaves from tall trees.

تَأْكُلُ الزَّرَافَةُ أَوْرَاقَ الأَشْجَارِ العَالِيَة.

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