potto

[ pot-oh ]

noun,plural pot·tos.
  1. a small arboreal mammal, Perodictus potto, in the loris family, similar in appearance and behavior to the kinkajou and olingo: classified as the sole species in its genus, but its subspecies are significantly varied.

Origin of potto

1
First recorded in 1760–70; from a Niger-Congo language, perhaps Wolof pata “tailless monkey,” or Twi apɔsɔ “fierce monkeylike animal”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use potto in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for potto

potto

/ (ˈpɒtəʊ) /


nounplural -tos
  1. a short-tailed prosimian primate, Perodicticus potto, having vertebral spines protruding through the skin in the neck region, native to tropical forests in West and Central Africa: family Lorisidae

  2. golden potto another name for angwantibo

  1. another name for kinkajou

Origin of potto

1
C18: of West African origin; compare Wolof pata type of tail-less monkey

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