Adjacent Words

Ape definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

APE, n.
1. A genus of quadrupeds, found in the torrid zone of both continents, of a great variety of species. In common use, the word extends to all the tribe of monkeys and baboons; but in zoology, ape is limited to such of these animals as have no tails; while those with short tails are called baboons, and those with long ones, monkeys. These animals have four cutting teeth in each jaw, and two canine teeth, with obtuse grinders. The feet are formed like hands, with four fingers and a thumb, and flat nails. Apes are lively, full of frolic and chatter, generally untamable, thieving and mischievous. They inhabit the forests, and live on fruits, leaves and insects.
2. One who imitates servilely, in allusion to the manners of the ape; a silly fellow.
APE, v.t. To imitate servilely; to mimic, as an ape imitates human actions. Weak persons are always prone to ape foreigners.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
2: someone who copies the words or behavior of another [syn: copycat, imitator, emulator, ape, aper]
3: person who resembles a nonhuman primate [syn: anthropoid, ape] v
1: imitate uncritically and in every aspect; "Her little brother apes her behavior"
2: represent in or produce a caricature of; "The drawing caricatured the President" [syn: caricature, ape]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English apa; akin to Old High German affo ape Date: before 12th century 1. a. monkey; especially one of the larger tailless or short-tailed Old World forms b. any of two families (Pongidae and Hylobatidae) of large tailless semierect primates (as the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, or gibbon) — called also anthropoid, anthropoid ape 2. a. mimic b. a large uncouth person • apelike adjective II. transitive verb (aped; aping) Date: 1632 to copy closely but often clumsily and ineptly Synonyms: see copy • aper noun III. adjective Date: circa 1955 crazy, wild — usually used in the phrase go ape

Britannica Concise

Any of the tailless, anthropoid primates of two families: Hylobatidae (the lesser apes: gibbons and siamangs) and Pongidae (the great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas). Apes are found in the tropical forests of W and central Africa and SE Asia. They are distinguished from monkeys by having no tail, having an appendix, and having a more complex brain. Apes typically move about by swinging, and they tend to stand erect, occasionally walking on two feet. Highly intelligent animals, apes are more closely related to humans than are any other living primates. As a result of habitat destruction and hunting, all the apes are now regarded as endangered.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 any of the various primates of the family Pongidae characterized by the absence of a tail, e.g. the gorilla, chimpanzee, orang-utan, or gibbon. 2 (in general use) any monkey. 3 a an imitator. b an apelike person. --v.tr. imitate, mimic. Phrases and idioms: ape-man (pl. -men) any of various apelike primates held to be forerunners of present-day man. go ape sl. become crazy. naked ape present-day man. Etymology: OE apa f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ape Ape, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aped; p. pr. & vb. n. Aping.] To mimic, as an ape imitates human actions; to imitate or follow servilely or irrationally. ``How he apes his sire.'' --Addison. The people of England will not ape the fashions they have never tried. --Burke.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ape Ape ([=a]p), n. [AS. apa; akin to D. aap, OHG. affo, G. affe, Icel. api, Sw. apa, Dan. abe, W. epa.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadrumanous mammal, esp. of the family Simiad[ae], having teeth of the same number and form as in man, and possessing neither a tail nor cheek pouches. The name is applied esp. to species of the genus Hylobates, and is sometimes used as a general term for all Quadrumana. The higher forms, the gorilla, chimpanzee, and ourang, are often called anthropoid apes or man apes. Note: The ape of the Old Testament was probably the rhesus monkey of India, and allied forms. 2. One who imitates servilely (in allusion to the manners of the ape); a mimic. --Byron. 3. A dupe. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(apes, aping, aped) 1. Apes are chimpanzees, gorillas, and other animals in the same family. N-COUNT 2. If you ape someone's speech or behaviour, you imitate it. Modelling yourself on someone you admire is not the same as aping all they say or do. = copy, imitate VERB: V n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

an animal of the monkey tribe (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21). It was brought from India by the fleets of Solomon and Hiram, and was called by the Hebrews _koph_, and by the Greeks _kepos_, both words being just the Indian Tamil name of the monkey, kapi, i.e., swift, nimble, active. No species of ape has ever been found in Palestine or the adjacent regions.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ap (qoph): The word occurs only in the two parallel passages (1Ki 10:22; 2Ch 9:21) in which the magnificence of Solomon is illustrated by the things which are brought to him from foreign countries. Apes are mentioned with gold, silver, ivory and peacocks. Peacocks are natives of India and Ceylon. Apes and ivory may have been brought from India or Africa. Gold and silver may have come from these or other quarters. An Indian origin may be inferred from the fact that the Hebrew qoph, the Greek kebos and the English "ape" are akin to the Sanskrit "kapi", which is referred to the root kap, kamp, "to tremble"; but the question of the source of these imports depends upon what is understood by TARSHISH and OPHIR (which see). Canon Cheyne in Encyclopedia Biblica (s.v. "Peacock") proposes a reading which would give "gold, silver, ivory and precious stones" instead of "gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks." Assuming, however, that animals are here referred to, the word ape should be understood to mean some kind of monkey. The word "ape" is sometimes used for the tail-less apes or anthropoids such as the gorilla, the chimpanzee and the orangutang, as opposed to the tailed kinds, but this distinction is not strictly held to, and the usage seems formerly to have been freer than now.

Alfred Ely Day

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Simian, troglodyte, tailless monkey. 2. Mimic, servile imitator. 3. Imitator, imitation, image, type, likeness. 4. Object of contempt, monster of ugliness, object of ridicule, guy. II. v. a. 1. Mimic (in good sense), imitate, counterfeit, take the form or appearance of. 2. Mimic, (in bad sense), copy with servility, affect, imitate with effort, imitate futilely.

Dictionary of Ro

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Moby Thesaurus

Barbary ape, Cape polecat, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Primates, Rodentia, act, act a part, act as, act out, angwantibo, anthropoid ape, ape about, appear like, approach, approximate, aye-aye, baboon, bar, be like, be redolent of, bear, bear resemblance, bring to mind, bugs on, burlesque, call to mind, call up, capuchin, caricature, cavy, chacma, chimp, chimpanzee, come close, come near, compare with, conformist, coon, copier, copy, copycat, copyist, correspond, counterfeit, counterfeiter, cracked on, crazy about, cuckoo, dissembler, dissimulator, do, drill, echo, echoer, echoist, emulate, enact, entellus, evoke, faker, favor, ferret, follow, forger, foumart, freaked-out, gaga over, gibbon, glutton, gone on, gorilla, groundhog, guenon, guereza, guinea pig, hanuman, hedgehog, hepped up over, hipped on, hit off, hit off on, hot about, hypocrite, imitate, imitator, impersonate, impersonator, impostor, langur, lemur, look like, macaque, mad about, make like, man, mandrill, marmoset, masquerade as, match, mime, mimer, mimic, mimicker, mirror, mock, mocker, mockingbird, monk, monkey, mountain gorilla, mousehound, near, nearly reproduce, not tell apart, nuts about, nuts on, opossum, orang, orangutan, pantomime, parallel, parody, parrot, partake of, pass for, perform, personate, phony, plagiarist, play, play a part, polecat, poll-parrot, polly, polly-parrot, porcupine, pose as, poseur, possum, prairie dog, pretend to be, proboscis monkey, quill pig, raccoon, remind one of, resemble, rhesus, rival, saki, savor of, seem like, sheep, simulate, simulator, skunk, smack of, sound like, stack up with, starry-eyed over, steamed up about, suggest, take after, take off, take off on, travesty, turned-on, weasel, whistle-pig, wild about, wolverine, woodchuck, zoril