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colobus

[kol-uh-buh s, kuh-loh-]
noun, plural col·o·bus·es, col·o·bi [kol-uh-bahy, kuh-loh-bahy] /ˈkɒl əˌbaɪ, kəˈloʊ baɪ/.
  1. any of several large, slender African monkeys of the genus Colobus, lacking thumbs and having long silky fur of black and white (C. polykomos), black and reddish-brown (C. badius), or olive (C. verus): now dwindling.
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Origin of colobus

1811; < New Latin, the genus name < Greek kolobós docked, maimed; so named from the mutilated appearance of the thumbless hands
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for colobus

Historical Examples

  • But his hair contradicts this—being straight as needles, and black as the skin of a Colobus monkey.

    The Flag of Distress

    Mayne Reid

  • The first with which we shall deal is Colobus, containing the Monkeys known as Guerezas.

  • Fifty feet down the colobus seized a limb and went skipping away through the branches as lively as ever.

    The Land of Footprints

    Stewart Edward White

  • We took about twenty boys into the jungle with us, and as soon as we caught sight of a colobus we chased him madly.

    The Land of Footprints

    Stewart Edward White

  • For gaudily marked beasts the colobus were extraordinarily difficult to see.

    The Land of Footprints

    Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for colobus

colobus

noun
  1. any leaf-eating arboreal Old World monkey of the genus Colobus, of W and central Africa, having a slender body, long silky fur, long tail, and reduced or absent thumbs
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Word Origin

C19: New Latin, from Greek kolobos cut short; referring to its thumb
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