Crossword Genius

Large African river or middle-sized English one (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

zaire

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'middle-sized english one' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both quantities as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'large african river' is the wordplay.
'large african' becomes 'z' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'river' becomes 'aire' (River Aire in Yorkshire).
'z'+'aire'='ZAIRE'

'or' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for zaire that I've seen before include "Former African country name" , "Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly" , "Until 1997 the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo" , "Democratic Republic of Congo's former name" , "Former African republic" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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