MONKEY • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Monkey

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/mˈəŋki/ Listen

noun

Monkey n. (pl. monkeys)

1.

(Zool.)

(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 Simidae. 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 Cebidae. 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."

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.

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

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.

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

verb

Monkey v. t. & v. i. To act or treat as a monkey does; to ape; to act in a grotesque or meddlesome manner.

To monkey with, To monkey around with, to handle in a meddlesome manner. (Colloq.)

See images of 'Monkey'

Etymology of 'Monkey'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Monkey" Quotes from Famous Books

... right in t' say, 'cause, I s'pose, they reckon as they're the high muck-i-muck o' this location, that that tarnation Sim Lory, thar head man, is to cap' the round-up. Why, he ain't cast a blamed foot on the prairie sence he's been hyar. An' I'll swear he don't know the horn o' his saddle from a monkey stick. Et ain't right, missie, an' us fellers t' work under ...

— The Story of the Foss River Ranch • Ridgwell Cullum

... five months developed into the prettiest darling that ever mother bathed in tears of joy, washed, brushed, combed, and made smart; for God knows what unwearied care we lavish upon those tender blossoms! So my monkey has ceased to exist, and behold in his stead a baby, as my English nurse says, a regular pink-and-white baby. He cries very little too now, for he is conscious of the love bestowed on him; indeed, I hardly ever ...

— Letters of Two Brides • Honore de Balzac

... "I don't monkey with government property, myself." He placed a peculiar accent on the last word, thus pointing his ...

— The Lookout Man • B. M. Bower

... palaces and streets and shops and tanks, and think that men must live there, till you find a wee gray squirrel rubbing its nose all alone in the market-place, and a jewelled peacock struts out of a carved doorway and spreads its tail against a marble screen as fine pierced as point-lace. Then a monkey—a little black monkey—walks through the main square to get a drink from a tank forty feet deep. He slides down the creepers to the water's edge, and a friend holds him by the tail, in ...

— The Light That Failed • Rudyard Kipling

... with the historic remains of a cigarette in his mouth, sprang like a monkey up the steps, and, not waiting to be asked, snatched the trunk from Priam's hands. Priam gave him one of Leek's sixpences for his feats of strength, and the boy spat generously on the coin, at the same time, by ...

— Buried Alive: A Tale of These Days • Arnold Bennett

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