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gorilla

 - 4 dictionary results

go⋅ril⋅la

[guh-ril-uh]
–noun
1. the largest of the anthropoid apes, Gorilla gorilla, terrestrial and vegetarian, of western equatorial Africa and the Kivu highlands, comprising the subspecies G. g. gorilla (western lowland gorilla), G. g. graueri (eastern lowland gorilla), and G. g. beringei (mountain gorilla): now rare.
2. an ugly, brutish person.
3. Slang. a hoodlum or thug, esp. one who threatens or inflicts violence.

Origin:
1790–1800; < NL < Gk Goríllās (acc. pl.) name for a race of hairy women in Hanno's account of his voyage along the coast of Africa (5th century b.c.)


go⋅ril⋅la⋅like, adjective
go⋅ril⋅li⋅an, go⋅ril⋅line [guh-ril-ahyn, -in] , adjective
go⋅ril⋅loid, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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go·ril·la   (gə-rĭl'ə)   
n.  
  1. The largest of the anthropoid apes (Gorilla gorilla) native to the forests of equatorial Africa, having a stocky body and coarse, dark brown or black hair.

  2. Slang

    1. A brutish man.

    2. A thug.


[New Latin, from Greek Gorillai, a tribe of hairy women, perhaps of African origin.]
Word History: Two traditions of exploration come together in the history of the word gorilla, which also illustrates how knowledge of the classics has influenced scientific terminology. Dr. Thomas S. Savage, an American missionary to western Africa, first scientifically described the gorilla in 1847, giving it the New Latin name Troglodytes gorilla. In doing so he was using his knowledge of Greek literature, in which there exists a fourth-century B.C. translation of a report written by Hanno, another visitor to western Africa. This Carthaginian navigator, who voyaged before 480 B.C., went as far as Sierra Leone in his explorations. In the Greek translation of his report he tells of seeing Gorillai, the name of which he allegedly learned from local informants and which he thought were members of a tribe of hairy women. In fact they were probably the same creatures that Thomas Savage described about 24 centuries later.
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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Word Origin & History

gorilla 
1847, applied to the apes (Troglodytes gorills) by U.S. missionary Thomas Savage, from Gk. gorillai, pl. of name given to wild, hairy people in Gk. translation of Carthaginian navigator Hanno's account of his voyage along the N.W. coast of Africa, c.500 B.C.E. Allegedly an African word.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

Gorilla

A company that dominates an industry without having a complete monopoly.

Investopedia Commentary

This term is a reference to the old jokes about the 800-pound gorillas, who "do whatever they want." For example, you'll hear people say "Microsoft is an 800-pound gorilla."

See also: Dove, Economic Moat, Elephants, Hawk, Monopoly

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