Zebranoun

• 1

  radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter Z.

zebranoun/ˈzɛb.ɹə/

• 1

  Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.

  • A group of zebras can be called a dazzle.
• 2

  slanghobbieslifestylesportsA referee.

• 3

  slangmedicinesciencesAn unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.

  • "It's a zebra! George. OK, I should explain. A zebra is..." "Medical slang for coming to an exotic diagnosis when a more simple explanation is more likely." "That's right. I was convinced that George, given his age and symptoms, had some kind of cardiac issue. It fit, it made sense. Because I was looking for the obvious when I should have been looking for the zebra! George is just having an allergic reaction to a combination of chemicals from all the stains and paints he's been using in the garage."
• 4

  medicinesciencesSomeone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder

  • EDS charities around the world use a zebra logo to promote the idea that sometimes it really is that ‘rare’ condition.
  • “I was told in medical school, ‘when you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras,’” she says. Many trainee doctors receive the same advice – when a patient presents with symptoms, “look for the common thing.” That’s why EDS patients commonly refer to themselves as zebras – and also use the fabulous collective noun “dazzle.” The name represents rarity and evokes the stripy stretch marks that are a common feature on EDS skin.
• 5

  derogatoryslurslangA biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.

  • “People change countries for all kinds of reasons,” Ross tells me. “But at least one of them was that she had this light-skinned, mixed-race child who had already been called a zebra at school.”
• 6

  informalA zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata).

• 7

  Any of various papilionid butterflies of the subgenus Paranticopsis of the genus Graphium, having black and white markings.

• 8

  A zebra crossing.

  • On his way home he'd picked up two economy-sized bags of tortilla chips, and had dropped both when a twat in a Lexus honked him on a zebra . . .