monkey
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology
From Low German; compare Middle Low German Moneke or Old Dutch *monnekijn, name of the ape’s son in the tale of Reynard the Fox, possibly from a Romance source with a Low German diminutive -ke, cf. Spanish mono, or from a variant of Old Dutch manneken "dwarf, little man", cf. Old French monnekin (--Hainault), diminuative of man, man.(Verification for this etymology is sought): More at mannequin, manikin
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
monkey (plural monkeys)
- Any of several members of the infra-order Simiiformes of primates, generally smaller than the apes, and distinguished from them by having a tail and cheek pouches.
- (informal) A mischievous child.
- Stop misbehaving, you little monkey!
- (British, slang) Five-hundred pounds sterling.
- (slang) A person or the role of the person on the sidecar platform of a motorcycle involved in sidecar racing.
- (slang) A person with minimal inteligence and/or (bad) looks .
- (rare, pejorative, slang) A dark-skinned person, especially a person of, or primarily of, Negro descent. See also nigger and/or jigaboo.
- (slang) A face card in blackjack
[edit] Translations
primate
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mischievous child
UK slang: five hundred pounds sterling
[edit] Verb
to monkey (third-person singular simple present monkeys, present participle monkeying, simple past and past participle monkeyed or monkied)
- (informal) To meddle; to mess with; to interfere; to fiddle.
- Please don't monkey with the controls if you don't know what you're doing.
[edit] Related terms
Terms related to the noun or verb "monkey"
[edit] See also
Categories: Low German derivations | Middle Low German derivations | English nouns | Informal | British English | Slang | Rare | Pejoratives | Kurdish nouns lacking gender | Translation requests (Malagasy) | Marathi nouns lacking gender | Sanskrit nouns lacking gender | Urdu nouns lacking gender | English verbs | 1000 English basic words | Primates

