loris

[lawr-is, lohr-]

noun

1. any of various small, arboreal, nocturnal mammals of the family Lorisidae, with large eyes and lacking a tail, comprising two genera, Loris (theslender lorises ) and Nycticebus (theslow lorises ).

loris

/ ˈlɔːrɪs /

noun

1. any of several omnivorous nocturnal slow-moving prosimian primates of the family Lorisidae, of S and SE Asia, esp Loris tardigradus ( slow loris ) and Nycticebus coucang ( slender loris ), having vestigial digits and no tails

Word History and Origins

Origin of loris¹

First recorded in 1765–75; from New Latin; the genus name, from Dutch loeris “simpleton,” equivalent to loer “stupid person” (from French lourd “heavy, clumsy,” from Latin lūridus ) + -is; lurid, -ish ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of loris¹

C18: from French; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Pygmy slow loris are a species of primate that comes from the rainforests and bamboo thickets of Vietnam, Laos, eastern Cambodia and southern China.

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These are the fourth pair of Loris to be born at the Zoo since the pair arrived in December 2020.

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A spokesperson said: "Breeding endangered species like these Loris are what zoos like ours are all about, ensuring that there is a captive population whilst numbers struggle in the wild."

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A zoo is celebrating the birth of rare and endangered pygmy slow loris twins.

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In 1999, Loris Degioanni made his first contributions to an open source network analysis tool that eventually became Wireshark, as part of his master’s thesis.

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