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ape - 10 dictionary results

ape

  [eyp] noun, verb, aped, ap⋅ing.
Use ape in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of a group of anthropoid primates characterized by long arms, a broad chest, and the absence of a tail, comprising the family Pongidae (great ape), which includes the chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan, and the family Hylobatidae (lesser ape), which includes the gibbon and siamang.
2. (loosely) any primate except humans.
3. an imitator; mimic.
4. Informal. a big, ugly, clumsy person.
–verb (used with object)
5. to imitate; mimic: to ape another's style of writing.
—Idioms
6. go ape, Slang. to become violently emotional: When she threatened to leave him, he went ape.
7. go ape over, Slang. to be extremely enthusiastic about: They go ape over old rock music.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE apa; c. OS apo, ON api, OHG affo (G Affe)

Related forms:
apelike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ape   (āp)   
n.  
    1. Any of various large, tailless Old World primates of the family Pongidae, including the chimpanzee, gorilla, gibbon, and orangutan.
    2. A monkey.
  2. A mimic or imitator.
  3. Informal A clumsy or boorish person.
tr.v.   aped, ap·ing, apes
To mimic slavishly but often with an absurd result. See Synonyms at imitate.

[Middle English, from Old English apa.]
ap'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ape

Ape\ ([=a]p), n. [AS. apa; akin to D. aap, OHG. affo, G. affe, Icel. api, Sw. apa, Dan. abe, W. epa.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadrumanous mammal, esp. of the family Simiad[ae], having teeth of the same number and form as in man, and possessing neither a tail nor cheek pouches. The name is applied esp. to species of the genus Hylobates, and is sometimes used as a general term for all Quadrumana. The higher forms, the gorilla, chimpanzee, and ourang, are often called anthropoid apes or man apes.

Note: The ape of the Old Testament was probably the rhesus monkey of India, and allied forms.

2. One who imitates servilely (in allusion to the manners of the ape); a mimic. --Byron.

3. A dupe. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Ape

Ape\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aped; p. pr. & vb. n. Aping.] To mimic, as an ape imitates human actions; to imitate or follow servilely or irrationally. "How he apes his sire." --Addison.

The people of England will not ape the fashions they have never tried. --Burke.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ape
Spanish: mono,
German: der Menschenaffe,
Japanese: 猿
More Translations »

ape 
O.E. apa, from P.Gmc. *apan (cf. O.S. apo, O.N. api, Du. aap, Ger. affe), perhaps borrowed in P.Gmc. from Celtic (cf. O.Ir. apa) or Slavic (cf. O.Bohemian op, Slovak opitza), probably ult. from a non-I.E. language. The verb "to imitate" (1632) is implied in to play the ape (1579), and the noun sense of "one who mimics" may date from c.1230. Ape-man, hypothetical "missing link," is from 1879, in a translation of Haeckel. To go ape (in emphatic form, go apeshit) "go crazy" is 1955, U.S. slang. To lead apes in hell (1579) was the fancied fate of one who died an old maid.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ape
Pronunciation: 'Ap
Function: noun
1 : MONKEY;especially : one of the larger tailless or short-tailed Old World forms
2 : any of the large tailless semierect primates (as the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, orgibbon) that comprise two primate families (Pongidae and Hylobatidae) called also anthropoid, anthropoid ape
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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APE audio, compression
A lossless audio compression algorithm from MonkeysAudio.
(2001-12-20)

apE graphics
A graphics package from the Ohio Supercomputer Centre.
(1995-11-29)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Ape

an animal of the monkey tribe (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21). It was brought from India by the fleets of Solomon and Hiram, and was called by the Hebrews _koph_, and by the Greeks _kepos_, both words being just the Indian Tamil name of the monkey, kapi, i.e., swift, nimble, active. No species of ape has ever been found in Palestine or the adjacent regions.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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APE
acute pulmonary edema
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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