Standard Lemma guide

zebu

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈziː.b(j)uː/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈzɛ.b(j)uː/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈzeɪ.b(j)uː/
  • General-American: /ˈzi.b(j)u/
  • General-American: /ˈzɛ.b(j)u/
  • General-American: /ˈzeɪ.b(j)u/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːbuː
  • rhymes with -iːbjuː
  • rhymes with -ɛbuː
  • rhymes with -ɛbjuː
  • rhymes with -eɪbuː
  • rhymes with -eɪbjuː

1

noun

Meaning 1

A domesticated ox native to Asia and Africa, having a large fleshy hump on its back and a dewlap (Bos taurus indicus).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Indian ox

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

domesticated ox having a humped back and long horns and a large dewlap; used chiefly as a draft animal in India and east Asia

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Brahman, Brahma, Brahmin, Bos indicus

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Classical Tibetan མཛོ (mdzo) Classical Tibetan པོ (po) Classical Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po) Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po)bor.? French zébubor. English zebu Borrowed from French zébu, probably from Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po, “male bull–yak hybrid”), whence also zobo.

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 瘤牛 (liúniú) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 犛牛 /牦牛 (máoniú / líniú) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Czech: zebu — Bos taurus indicus
  • Dutch: zeboe — Bos taurus indicus
  • Finnish: seebu — Bos taurus indicus
  • French: zébu — Bos taurus indicus
  • Georgian: ზებუ (zebu) — Bos taurus indicus
  • German: Zebu — Bos taurus indicus
  • German: Buckelrind — Bos taurus indicus
  • Greek: ζεμπού (zempoú) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Hindi: ज़ेबू (zebū) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Hindi: बैल (bail) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Ido: zebuo — Bos taurus indicus
  • Italian: zebù — Bos taurus indicus
  • Japanese: 瘤牛 (kobuushi) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Japanese: 犎牛 (hōgyū) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Japanese: インド牛 (indoushi) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Japanese: ゼブ (zebu) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Lithuanian: zèbu — Bos taurus indicus
  • Macedonian: зе́бу (zébu) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Malagasy: jamoka — Bos taurus indicus
  • Portuguese: zebu — Bos taurus indicus
  • Russian: зе́бу (zébu) — Bos taurus indicus
  • Spanish: cebú — Bos taurus indicus
  • Vietnamese: bò u — Bos taurus indicus
  • Vietnamese: bò zebu — Bos taurus indicus
  • Vietnamese: bò zêbu — Bos taurus indicus
  • Yoruba: màlúù — Bos taurus indicus