aye-aye

[ ahy-ahy ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an endangered species of omnivorous lemur, Daubentonia madagascariensis, the world’s largest nocturnal primate, having rodentlike incisors and long fingers: its extremely rare foraging technique involves gnawing small holes in trees and extracting grubs with its distinctly thin middle finger.

aye-aye

/ ˈaɪˌaɪ /

a rare nocturnal arboreal prosimian primate of Madagascar, Daubentonia madagascariensis , related to the lemurs: family Daubentoniidae. It has long bony fingers and rodent-like incisor teeth adapted for feeding on insect larvae and bamboo pith

Origin of aye-aye¹

First recorded in 1775–85; from French, from Malagasy aiay, probably imitative of its cry

Origin of aye-aye¹

C18: from French, from Malagasy aiay, probably of imitative origin

"Aye—aye—" The rough northern voices held adoration as the warriors crowded around the slim red-haired figure.

The aye-aye is about as big as a rather small cat, and its great bushy tail is longer than its head and body put together.

Even more curious still is the aye-aye, of Madagascar, which has puzzled naturalists very much.

Sometimes, however, they catch it by mistake, finding an aye-aye in a trap which has been set for lemurs.

The aye-aye is seldom seen in captivity, and when in that state it sleeps all day long.

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