tsessebe, noun

/ˈtsesəbi/
Forms:
tsesebe, tsessabiShow more Also tsesebe, tsessabi, tsessébe, tsesseby, tssessebe, tssessbe.
Plurals:
unchanged, or tsessebes.
Origin:
Setswana
The large antelope Damaliscus lunatus of the Bovidae, reddish-brown in colour, and noted for its speed of movement; bastard hartebeast, see hartebeast sense b; bastard hartebeest, see hartebeest noun sense b; sassaby; formerly also called hartebeast (sense a), hartebeest (noun sense a).
[1801 in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1899) IV. 392Saw an unknown antelope called by the Boetshoeanas Tsietsebee.]
1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. 26Zebras, giraffes, tsessébes, kamas or hartebeests.
1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. 66When the annual inundation begins..antelopes such as the springbuck and tsessebe (Acronotus lunata) are swept down by its rushing waters.
1896 H.L. Tangye In New S. Afr. 245A large herd of tssessebe have been seen.
1907 W.C. Scully By Veldt & Kopje 206Just before camping at sundown the boy shot a tsessabi, the flesh of which is among the very best the wilderness affords.
1910 J. Buchan Prester John 99‘Home with you,’ I said. ‘Home, old man, as if you were running down a tsessebe.’
1929 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Low-Veld 91Tsessebe in the plains, and impala in the bush, both rely upon their speed.
1936 C. Birkby Thirstland Treks 297The old hunter spoke..of the tsesebe’s rich purple coat.
1951 A. Roberts Mammals 287Tsessebe...When alarmed it travels at a fast lumbering gallop and can keep up this pace for suprising distances.
1978 S. Afr. Digest 29 Sept. 17The Tsessebe, or Sassaby antelope, has returned to Natal after an absence of about 80 years. The Conservationist reports these antelopes are the fleetest of all African antelopes.
1980 J. Hanks Mammals 37Tsessebe (Sassaby) Damaliscus lunatus...Overall colour from reddish-chestnut to chocolate brown. Shoulder height about 120 cm.
1992 S. Afr. Panorama Mar.–Apr. 52Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus lunatus).
The large antelope Damaliscus lunatus of the Bovidae, reddish-brown in colour, and noted for its speed of movement; bastard hartebeast, see hartebeast sense b; bastard hartebeest, see hartebeest noun sense b; sassaby; formerly also called hartebeast (sense a), hartebeest (noun sense a).
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18011992

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Setswana
tsamma, nounn.tsetse, nounn.
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