monk seal

noun

1. a small, dark brown, subtropical seal of the genus Monachus: the three species, M. tropicalis of the Caribbean, M. schauinslandi of Hawaiian island regions, and M. monachus of the Mediterranean, are endangered.

Word History and Origins

Origin of monk seal¹

1835–45; apparently translation of the NL genus name Monachus ( monk ), originally a specific name ( Phoca monacha ), probably in allusion to the animal's gray coloration and isolated breeding sites; compare French moine, Italian monaco the monk seal, literally, monk

Example Sentences

Researchers in the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program study and protect Hawaiian monk seals.

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Over the summer, researchers spotted a young monk seal with a spotted eel hanging out of its nose.

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When a research group posted a picture of a young monk seal on the Internet, the picture, and the seal, soon became big news.

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It wasn’t all about humanity, either; animals played starring roles as well, from unemployed elephants in Thailand to sun bears in an Indonesian rain forest; from the scent of foxes in England to the welcome distraction of a monk seal on an Israeli beach.

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Catholicism was important to her family in her native American Samoa, Watanuki recalled as she spoke to The Associated Press journalists she invited to her home after Mass. As a Hawaiian monk seal rested at low tide just yards away, Watanuki explained that she didn’t learn about Damien and Marianne until moving to Kalaupapa.

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