The name wildebeest finds its origin in the Dutch and Afrikaans words wild and beest, which mean "wild animal" and "beest" in Afrikaans means "cattle" (or "steer"). Although the name is derived from the Dutch language, the name "wildebeest" doesn't officially exist in the Dutch language; the Dutch name for wildebeest is gnoe. Afrikaners may have started using the name wildebeest for the animal as they had no other name for it when it was first encountered. "Gnu" is from a Khoikhoi language, likely an imitation of the grunting noise that a wildebeest makes.