magot

[ ma-goh, mah-, mag-uht ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Barbary ape.
a small, grotesque Japanese or Chinese carved figure.

magot

/ ˈmæɡət; mɑːˈɡəʊ /

noun

a Chinese or Japanese figurine in a crouching position, usually grotesque
See Barbary ape
a less common name for Barbary ape

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Word History and Origins

Origin of magot¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from French, Middle French, alteration of Magog, a people seduced by Satan in Revelation 20:8; used figuratively in non-Christian medieval legends, and probably applied derisively to the apes in allusion to their supposed grotesqueness; Magog ( def )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of magot¹

C17: from French: grotesque figure, after the Biblical giant Magog

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Example Sentences

The magot, which is a very common animal in Upper Egypt, as well as in Barbary, was known to the ancients.

From Project Gutenberg

The orang-outang, and the gibbon, are very different from the pithecos and the magot.

From Project Gutenberg

The magot has no tail, though he has a small portion of skin, which has some appearance of one.

From Project Gutenberg

The magot is sometimes known as the Barbary ape, although of course it is not really an ape at all.

From Project Gutenberg

Old Osmond Crooke shall lend thee his bow, and thy quarry shall be yon magot-pie.'

From Project Gutenberg

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Magog magpie

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