orangutan

[ aw-rang-oo-tan, oh-rang-, uh-rang- ]

/ ɔˈræŋ ʊˌtæn, oʊˈræŋ-, əˈræŋ- /

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noun

either of two species of long-armed, arboreal great ape, the only extant members of the subfamily Ponginae, inhabiting Borneo (Pongo pygmaeus) and Sumatra (P. abelii): both species, including all three of the Bornean subspecies, are endangered.

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Also o·rang-u·tan; o·rang·u·tang or o·rang-ou·tang

[aw-rang-oo-tang, oh-rang-, uh-rang-] /ɔˈræŋ ʊˌtæŋ, oʊˈræŋ-, əˈræŋ-/ .

Also called o·rang

[aw-rang, oh-rang] /ɔˈræŋ, oʊˈræŋ/ .

Origin of orangutan

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Dutch orang outang, apparently from Malay: literally, “forest man” (Malay orang “man, person” + (h)utan “forest”

Words nearby orangutan

orange stick, orange-tip, Orangevale, Orangeville, orangewood, orangutan, orangy, Oranian, orans, orant, Orap

How to use orangutan in a sentence

In the early 1990s, Kinari Webb took a year off college to join a Harvard researcher studying orangutans in Indonesia’s rainforested Gunung Palung National Park.
The fight to stop the next pandemic starts in the jungles of Borneo|Brian Barth|December 2, 2020|Popular-Science
Some dude slaps an orangutan around a little,” says Rick, “and they ask for $800,000,000.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it is unlikely to make that transition itself, anymore than you could turn yourself into your neighbor, or an orangutan.
Can Walmart Change?|Megan McArdle|November 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There was an orangutan sanctuary there, and I heard that they were taking volunteers.
Audrey Tautou on ‘Amélie,’ Her New Film ‘Delicacy,’ & More|Marlow Stern|March 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The exhibit was intended as an example of the "missing link" between the orangutan and white man.
Of Course Killer Whales Kill|Mansfield Frazier|February 25, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Sammy the orangutan has watched himself in Dunston Checks In, and he seemed to be interested.
Bubbles Speaks|Ben Montgomery|July 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Of the great man-like apes (gorilla, orangutan, and chimpanzee).
Dactylography|Henry Faulds
He leaped from left to right, and back again, like an orangutan stirred to frenzied anger.
Captain Pott's Minister|Francis L. Cooper
Exactly a week after I had caught this interesting little animal, I succeeded in shooting a full-grown male Orangutan.
The Malay Archipelago|Alfred Russell Wallace
He looks as much like a Borneo Orangutan as any human being I ever saw.
Flash-lights from the Seven Seas|William L. Stidger

British Dictionary definitions for orangutan

orang-utan

orang-utang (ɔːˌræŋuːˈtæŋ, ˌɔːræŋˈuːtæŋ)

/ (ɔːˌræŋuːˈtæn, ˌɔːræŋˈuːtæn) /

noun

a large anthropoid ape, Pongo pygmaeus, of the forests of Sumatra and Borneo, with shaggy reddish-brown hair and strong armsSometimes shortened to: orang

Word Origin for orang-utan

C17: from Malay orang hutan, from ōrang man + hūtan forest

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