Etymology

Ultimately from Arabic زَرَافَة ‎(zarāfa), further etymology is disputed. Perhaps from Persian زرناپا ‎(zurnāpā, “giraffe”), a compound of زرنا ‎(zurnā, “flute, zurna”) and پا ‎(pā, “leg”), or from Classical Syriac ܙܵܪܝܼܦܵܐ ‎(zarāfa).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): [dʒiˈʁafa]