gorilla

go·ril·la  (g-rl)

n.

1. The largest of the anthropoid apes (Gorilla gorilla) native to the forests of equatorial Africa, having a stocky body and coarse, dark brown or black hair.

2. Slang

a. A brutish man.

b. A thug.

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[New Latin, from Greek Gorillai, a tribe of hairy women, perhaps of African origin.]

Word History: Two traditions of exploration come together in the history of the word gorilla, which also illustrates how knowledge of the classics has influenced scientific terminology. Dr. Thomas S. Savage, an American missionary to western Africa, first scientifically described the gorilla in 1847, giving it the New Latin name Troglodytes gorilla. In doing so he was using his knowledge of Greek literature, in which there exists a fourth-century b.c. translation of a report written by Hanno, another visitor to western Africa. This Carthaginian navigator, who voyaged before 480 b.c., went as far as Sierra Leone in his explorations. In the Greek translation of his report he tells of seeing Gorillai, the name of which he allegedly learned from local informants and which he thought were members of a tribe of hairy women. In fact they were probably the same creatures that Thomas Savage described about 24 centuries later.

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gorilla

Noun

a very large W African ape with coarse black hair [Greek Gorillai, an African tribe renowned for their hairy appearance]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

gorilla - largest anthropoid ape; terrestrial and vegetarian; of forests of central west Africa Gorilla gorilla great ape, pongid - any of the large anthropoid apes of the family Pongidae genus Gorilla - gorillas Gorilla gorilla gorilla, western lowland gorilla - a kind of gorilla eastern lowland gorilla, Gorilla gorilla grauri - a kind of gorilla Gorilla gorilla beringei, mountain gorilla - gorilla of Kivu highlands silverback - an adult male gorilla with grey hairs across the back

Translations

gorilla [gəˈrɪlə] n → gorila m

gorilla [gəˈrɪlə] n → gorille m

gorilla [gəˈrɪlə] n → Gorilla m

gorilla [gəˈrɪlə] n → gorilla m inv

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gorilla

n gorilla [gəˈrilə]

the largest type of ape Two gorillas have escaped from the zoo.gorillaغوريلا، نوع من القِرَدَهгорилаgorilagorillader Gorillaγορίλαςgorilagorillaگوریلgorillagorilleגוֹרִילָהवन मानुषgorilagorillagorilagórillagorillaゴリラ고릴라gorilagorillagorilagorillagorillagorylgorilagorilăгориллаgorilagorilagorilagorillaลิงกอริลล่าgoril大猩猩горилаگورلاkhỉ gôrila大猩猩