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monkey

- 7 dictionary results

mon⋅key

[muhng-kee] noun, plural -keys, verb, -keyed, -key⋅ing.
–noun
1. any mammal of the order Primates, including the guenons, macaques, langurs, and capuchins, but excluding humans, the anthropoid apes, and, usually, the tarsier and prosimians. Compare New World monkey, Old World monkey.
2. the fur of certain species of such long-haired animals.
3. a person likened to such an animal, as a mischievous, agile child or a mimic.
4. a dance, deriving from the twist, in which the partners move their hands as if climbing a pole and jerk their heads back and forth.
5. Slang. an addiction to narcotics.
6. any of various mechanical devices, as the ram of a pile driver.
7. Coal Mining. a small passageway or opening.
8. British Slang. the sum of 500 pounds.
9. Australian Informal. a sheep.
–verb (used without object)
10. Informal. to play or trifle idly; fool (often fol. by around or with).
–verb (used with object)
11. to imitate; ape; mimic.
12. to mock.
13. a monkey on one's back, Slang.
a. an addiction to a drug or drugs; narcotic dependency.
b. an enduring and often vexing habit or urge.
c. a burdensome problem, situation, or responsibility; personal affliction or hindrance.
14. make a monkey out of, to cause to appear ridiculous; make a fool of. Also, make a monkey of.

Origin:
1520–30; appar. < LG; cf. MLG Moneke (name of son of Martin the Ape in the story of Reynard), equiv. to mone- (akin to obs. F monne she-ape, Sp, Pg mono ape) + -ke dim. suffix


mon⋅key⋅ish, adjective
mon⋅key⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
mon⋅key⋅ish⋅ness, noun
mon·key   (mŭng'kē)   
n.   pl. mon·keys
  1. Any of various long-tailed, medium-sized members of the order Primates, including the macaques, baboons, guenons, capuchins, marmosets, and tamarins and excluding the anthropoid apes and the prosimians.
  2. One who behaves in a way suggestive of a monkey, as a mischievous child or a mimic.
  3. The iron block of a pile driver.
  4. Slang A person who is mocked, duped, or made to appear a fool: They made a monkey out of him.
  5. Slang Drug addiction: have a monkey on one's back.
v.   mon·keyed, mon·key·ing, mon·keys

v.   intr. Informal
  1. To play, fiddle, trifle, or tamper with something.
  2. To behave in a mischievous or apish manner: Stop monkeying around!
v.   tr.
To imitate or mimic; ape.

[Origin unknown.]

Monkey

Mon"key\, n.; pl. Monkeys. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It. monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr. fr. madonna. See Madonna.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana, including apes, baboons, and lemurs. (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs. (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of apes and baboons.

Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups: (a) Catarrhines, or Simid[ae]. These have an oblong head, with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old World. (b) Platyrhines, or Cebid[ae]. These have a round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not opposable. These are natives of the New World. (c) Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.

2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a mischievous child.

This is the monkey's own giving out; she is persuaded I will marry her. --Shak.

3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.

4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.

Monkey boat. (Naut.) (a) A small boat used in docks. (b) A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.

Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a swivel. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. --Gray.

Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast for the better display of signals at sea.

Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by sailors.

Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.

Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]

Monkey trick, a mischievous prank. --Saintsbury.

Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin.

Monkey wrench, a wrench or spanner having a movable jaw.

Monkey

Mon"key\, v. t. & i. To act or treat as a monkey does; to ape; to act in a grotesque or meddlesome manner.

To monkey with, to handle in a meddlesome manner. [Colloq.]
Language Translation for : monkey
Spanish: mono,
German: der Affe,
Japanese:

monkey 
1530, likely from an unrecorded M.L.G. *moneke or M.Du. *monnekijn, a colloquial word for "monkey," originally a dim. of some Romanic word, cf. Fr. monne (16c.), O.It. monna, Sp. mona. In a 1498 Low Ger. version of the popular medieval beast story "Roman de Renart" ("Reynard the Fox"), Moneke is the name given to the son of Martin the Ape. The O.Fr. form of the name is Monequin (recorded as Monnekin in a 14c. version from Hainault), which could be a dim. of some personal name, or it could be from the general Romanic word, which may be ult. from Arabic maimun "monkey," lit. "auspicious," a euphemistic usage because the sight of apes was held by the Arabs to be unlucky. The word would have been influenced in It. by folk-etymology from monna "woman," a contraction of ma donna "my lady." Monkey has been used affectionately for "child" since 1605. As a type of modern popular dance, it is attested from 1964. Monkeyshines is first recorded 1832, Amer.Eng.; monkey business attested from 1883. Monkey suit "fancy uniform" is from 1886. Monkey wrench is attested from 1858; its fig. sense of "Something that obstructs operations" is from the notion of one getting jammed in the gears of machinery (cf. spanner in the works). To make a monkey of someone is attested from 1900. To have a monkey on one's back "be addicted" is 1930s narcotics slang, though the same phrase in the 1860s meant "to be angry." There is a story in the Sinbad cycle about a tormenting ape-like creature that mounts a man's shoulders and won't get off, which may be the root of the term. In 1890s British slang, to have a monkey up the chimney meant "to have a mortgage on one's house." The three wise monkeys ("see no evil," etc.) are attested from 1926.

Main Entry: mon·key
Pronunciation: 'm&[ng]-kE
Function: noun
: a nonhuman primate mammal with the exception usually of the lemurs and tarsiers;especially : any of the smaller longer-tailed primates as contrasted with the apes
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