agunfọn

Yoruba

Àgùnfọn

Etymology

From à- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ gùn (“to be long”) +‎ fọn (“to be emaciated; to be slim”), literally “that which is long and slim”. The exact species of the àgùnfọn bird is unclear, as the black-crowned crane (the animal it is often translated to be) likely only occurred in the extreme-northern parts of Yorubaland. Later, the semantic meaning of the term was later extended to giraffe, an animal not traditionally found in Yorubaland because of the matching descriptions with the giraffe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à.ɡũ̀.fɔ̃̄/

Noun

àgùnfọn

1. a type of long-necked bird with a crest; black crowned crane
2. (modern) giraffe (traditionally, giraffes did not live in the range of Yorubaland)