gibbon

¹

[gib-uhn]

noun

1. any of the small arboreal apes of the East Indies and southern Asia that belong to the four genera of the family Hylobatidae (the lesser apes), displaying strong territorial behavior with vigorous vocalization and having wrists much like ball-and-socket joints: all species are reduced in number, and most are endangered.

Gibbon

²

[gib-uhn]

noun

1. Edward, 1737–94, English historian.

Gibbon

¹

/ ˈɡɪbən /

noun

1. Edward. 1737–94, English historian; author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–88), controversial in its historical criticism of Christianity

2. Lewis Grassic (ˈɡræsɪk), real name James Leslie Mitchell . 1901–35, Scottish writer: best known for his trilogy of novels Scots Quair (1932–34)

gibbon

²

/ ˈɡɪbən /

noun

1. any small agile arboreal anthropoid ape of the genus Hylobates, inhabiting forests in S Asia

Word History and Origins

Origin of gibbon¹

First recorded in 1760–70; from French, used by Georges Buffon; further origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of gibbon¹

C18: from French, probably from an Indian dialect word

Example Sentences

The virus, according to a report in Nature, was first isolated in 1945 from a gibbon in Florida.

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Indian customs officers have arrested a plane passenger after discovering two endangered gibbons stuffed inside a checked bag, the latest animals seized from smugglers at Mumbai's airport.

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These included seven hominid species, or "great apes,"** such as humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, and nine hylobatid species, or "lesser apes,"*** such as gibbons.

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The gibbons, listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were concealed in a plastic crate placed inside the passenger's trolley bag.

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“Cleverness. You see so many stickers saying I Brake For Squirrels, or Garage Sales or whatever. Brachiation is using your arms to swing through the tree branches, like gibbons and spider monkeys.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times