ape-man

[ eyp-man ]

/ ˈeɪpˌmæn /

noun, plural ape-men.

a hypothetical primate representing a transitional form between true humans and the anthropoid apes, considered by some as constituting the genus Australopithecus.

a human assumed to have been reared by apes.

Nearby words

Origin of ape-man

First recorded in 1875–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for apeman

Ellen was not afraid to go with Apeman, thinking him Bentley.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931|Various
His one thought was to free the apes, set them upon the village, and escape with Apeman and Ellen.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931|Various
Bentley hurried back because Apeman must be saved, somehow, even against his will.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931|Various
Apeman weakly but angrily, Manape with a sound of such brute savagery that even the twittering of birds died away to awed silence.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931|Various

The apes stirred fitfully as Apeman chattered, and began to renew their attacks on their bonds.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931|Various

British Dictionary definitions for apeman

apeman

/ (ˈeɪpˌmæn) /

noun plural -men

any of various extinct apelike primates thought to have been the forerunners, or closely related to the forerunners, of modern man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apeman

ape-man

hypothetical "missing link," 1879, in a translation of Haeckel, from ape (n.) + man (n.). Man-ape is attested from 1878. The name Martin Halfape appears in an English roll from 1227.