dryopithecine

[ drahy-oh-pith-uh-seen, -sahyn, -puh-thee-sin, -sahyn ]

noun
  1. (sometimes initial capital letter) an extinct ape of the genus Dryopithecus, known from Old World Miocene fossils.

adjective
  1. of or relating to this ape.

Origin of dryopithecine

1
First recorded in 1945–50; Dryopithec(us) + -ine1

Words Nearby dryopithecine

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British Dictionary definitions for dryopithecine

dryopithecine

/ (ˌdraɪəʊˈpɪθəˌsiːn) /


noun
  1. any extinct Old World ape of the genus Dryopithecus, common in Miocene and Pliocene times: thought to be the ancestors of modern apes

Origin of dryopithecine

1
C20: from New Latin Dryopithēcus, from Greek drus tree + pithēkos ape

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for dryopithecine

dryopithecine

[ drī′ō-pĭthĭ-sēn′ ]


  1. An extinct ape of the genus Dryopithecus, known from fossil remains of the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is believed to be an ancestor of the anthropoid apes and humans.

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