Alternative forms

• azoraba, zarafa, zaraffa

Etymology

Borrowed from Andalusian ArabicCategory:Old Spanish terms borrowed from Andalusian Arabic#AZORAFACategory:Old Spanish terms derived from Andalusian Arabic#AZORAFA, from ArabicCategory:Old Spanish terms derived from Arabic#AZORAFA الزُّرَافَة (az-zurāfa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ad͡zoˈɾafa/Category:Old Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#AZORAFA
• Rhymes: -afaCategory:Rhymes:Old Spanish/afa#AZORAFACategory:Rhymes:Old Spanish/afa/4 syllables#AZORAFA
• Hyphenation: a‧zo‧ra‧fa

Noun

azorafa fCategory:Old Spanish lemmas#AZORAFACategory:Old Spanish nouns#AZORAFACategory:Old Spanish entries with incorrect language header#AZORAFACategory:Old Spanish feminine nouns#AZORAFACategory:Pages with entries#AZORAFACategory:Pages with 2 entries#AZORAFA (plural azorafas)Category:osp-noun needing attention

1. giraffe
   • 1489 March 20, Fernán Sánchez de Tovar, chapter IX, in CRONICA DE Loſ Reyes Don Alfonso el X: D.ⁿ Sancho el Bravo: D. Fernando el IV. y D Alfonso el XI, page 12v, column 2:

     E otroſi traxieꝛõle vn maꝛfyl ⁊ vna anjmalia q̃ dezjã azoꝛafa […]

     [E otrosi traxieronle un marfil e una animalia que dezian azorafa […] ]

     And, moreover, they brought him a [piece of] ivory and a beast they called “giraffe”.

     Category:Old Spanish terms with quotations#AZORAFA

2. (chessCategory:osp:Chess#AZORAFA) the giraffe piece in Grant Acedrex
   • 1283, Alfonso X of Castile, Juegos diversos de Axedreʒ, dados, y tablas cõ sus explicaçones [Various chess, dice, and board games, with their instructions], page 82r, column 1:

     E la ʒaraffa es meioꝛ q̃ el peon.

     [E la zarafa es mejor que el peon.]

     And the giraffe is better than the pawn.

     Category:Old Spanish terms with quotations#AZORAFA

References

• “azorafa”, in Vocabulario de comercio medieval [Vocabulary of medieval commerce] (in Spanish), Murcia: University of Murcia, 2013–2024
• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “jirafa”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎ (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 521

Etymology

Borrowed from ArabicCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from Arabic#AZORAFACategory:Spanish terms derived from Arabic#AZORAFA زُرَافَة (zurāfa), via Andalusian ArabicCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from Andalusian Arabic#AZORAFACategory:Spanish terms derived from Andalusian Arabic#AZORAFA,^[1] doublet of jirafaCategory:Spanish doublets#AZORAFA.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aθoˈɾafa/ [a.θoˈɾa.fa] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)Category:Spanish 4-syllable words#AZORAFACategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#AZORAFA
• IPA^(key): /asoˈɾafa/ [a.soˈɾa.fa] (Latin America, Philippines)Category:Spanish 4-syllable words#AZORAFACategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#AZORAFA
• Rhymes: -afaCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/afa#AZORAFACategory:Rhymes:Spanish/afa/4 syllables#AZORAFA
• Syllabification: a‧zo‧ra‧fa

Noun

azorafa f (plural azorafas)Category:Spanish lemmas#AZORAFACategory:Spanish nouns#AZORAFACategory:Spanish countable nouns#AZORAFACategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#AZORAFACategory:Spanish feminine nouns#AZORAFACategory:Pages with entries#AZORAFACategory:Pages with 2 entries#AZORAFA

1. (obsoleteCategory:Spanish obsolete terms#AZORAFA) giraffe

   Synonym: jirafa

References

• Diccionario de la lengua castellana (volume 1), 1770, p. 419
• Diccionario de la lengua castellana (volume 10), 1852, p. 81

Further reading

• “azorafa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “azorafa”, in Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española [Thesaurus of the Historical Dictionaries of the Spanish Language], Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], launched 2021