aye-aye

American  

[ahy-ahy] / ˈaɪˌaɪ /

noun

1. an endangered species of omnivorous lemur, Daubentonia madagascariensis, the world’s largest nocturnal primate, having rodentlike incisors and long fingers: its extremely rare foraging technique involves gnawing small holes in trees and extracting grubs with its distinctly thin middle finger.

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aye-aye British  

/ ˈaɪˌaɪ /

noun

1. a rare nocturnal arboreal prosimian primate of Madagascar, Daubentonia madagascariensis , related to the lemurs: family Daubentoniidae. It has long bony fingers and rodent-like incisor teeth adapted for feeding on insect larvae and bamboo pith

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Etymology

Origin of aye-aye

First recorded in 1775–85; from French, from Malagasy aiay, probably imitative of its cry

Example Sentences

The aye-aye is endangered, its habitat fragmented and individuals, though rarely seen, sometimes killed because they are seen as bad luck.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

But if there’s a champion nose-picker, it’s got to be the aye-aye.

From Scientific American • Nov. 1, 2022

It wasn't just any lemur; an aye-aye was filmed by Prof Anne-Claire Fabre from the University of Bern burying its elongated finger in its nostril.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2022

Certain primates like the aye-aye lemur have an extra thumb-like digit as well.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2022

We may, therefore, consider that the aye-aye really occupies the same place in nature in the forests of this tropical island, as do the woodpeckers in other parts of the world.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 344, August 5, 1882 by Various