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monkey

Pronunciation: /ˈmʌŋki/

The English word “monkey” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails, and cheek pouches.
  2. Any simian, including humans.
  3. Any simian primate other than hominids; any monkey or ape.
  4. A naughty or mischievous person, especially a child.
  5. The person in the motorcycle sidecar in sidecar racing.
  6. Synonym of idiot: a person of minimal intelligence.
  7. Synonym of uggo: an unattractive person, especially one whose face supposedly resembles a monkey's.
  8. Synonym of puppet: a person dancing to another's tune, a person controlled or directed by another.
  9. A menial employee who does a repetitive job supposedly requiring minimal intelligence.
  10. A black person.
  11. A penis.
  12. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
  13. The vessel in which a mess receives its full allowance of grog.
  14. The weight of a pile driver or drop hammer.
  15. A fluid consisting of hydrochloric acid and zinc, used in the process of soldering.
  16. Synonym of five hundred, especially (UK) 500 pounds sterling or (US, dated) 500 dollars.
  17. Synonym of face card.
  18. A person's temper, said to be "up" when they are angry.
  19. A drug habit; an addiction; a compulsion.
  20. A dance popularized by Major Lance in 1963, now usually only its upper-body dance move involving exaggerated drumming motions.

Etymology

Uncertain: * May be derived from monk + -ey (diminutive suffix), * or borrowed from Middle Low German Moneke, the name of the son of Martin the Ape in Reynard the Fox (which may represent an unattested colloquial Middle Low German *moneke, *moneken), itself of uncertain origin: ** Possibly derived from a Romance term represented by Late Middle French monne (whence Modern French mone (“monkey”))…

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