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lemur

American  
[lee-mer] / ˈli mər /

noun

  1. any of various small, arboreal, chiefly nocturnal mammals of the superfamily Lemuroidea, inhabiting Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, inclusive of nearly 100 species, most of which have large eyes, a foxlike face, and woolly fur: lemurs, which vary significantly in size, include the world’s smallest primates.

lemur British  
/ ˈliːmə /

noun

  1. any Madagascan prosimian primate of the family Lemuridae, such as Lemur catta (the ring-tailed lemur ). They are typically arboreal, having foxy faces and long tails

  2. any similar or closely related animal, such as a loris or indris

"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

Other Word Forms

  • lemur-like adjective
  • lemurlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of lemur

First recorded in 1790–1800; from New Latin Lemur, the species name, special use of Latin lemurēs (plural) “ghosts, specters, shades of the dead,” from its nocturnal habits

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Meanwhile a two-month-old Alaotran gentle lemur has taken its first tentative jumps beyond the safety of its mother Hazo and father Rocky, making its first trips across an outdoor paddock to nibble on leafy greens.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025

The impact of predation -- combined with low reproductive rates and potentially high inbreeding of the lemur population of Betampona -- could affect the survival of this species at this site.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2024

Finally, another officer is able to grab the lemur and hold it still as his partner gently gets it “snuggled up” in the towel, the Springfield Police Department said in a Facebook post.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2023

Although humans don’t naturally hibernate, the ability is found in species from nearly every mammalian lineage, from Madagascar’s fat-tailed dwarf lemur to the arctic ground squirrel.

From Science Magazine • May 24, 2023

His lemur dæmon sprang to an empty chair next to him as he continued.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.