colobus

[ kol-uh-buh s, kuh-loh- ]

/ ˈkɒl ə bəs, kəˈloʊ- /

noun, plural col·o·bus·es, col·o·bi [kol-uh-bahy, kuh-loh-bahy] /ˈkɒl əˌbaɪ, kəˈloʊ baɪ/.

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.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for colobus

In Africa, the representatives of this last-mentioned tribe are found in the Colobus monkeys.
Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found|Mayne Reid
The first with which we shall deal is Colobus, containing the Monkeys known as Guerezas.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
For gaudily marked beasts the colobus were extraordinarily difficult to see.
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

There are some seven species of monkeys, including two baboons and one colobus.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for colobus

colobus

/ (ˈkɒləbəs) /

noun

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

Word Origin for colobus

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