orangutan
[aw-rang-oo-tan, oh-rang-, uh-rang-]
noun
a large, long-armed anthropoid ape, Pongo pygmaeus, of arboreal habits, inhabiting Borneo and Sumatra: an endangered species.
Also o·rang-u·tan, o·rang·u·tang, o·rang-ou·tang [aw-rang-oo-tang, oh-rang-, uh-rang-] /ɔˈræŋ ʊˌtæŋ, oʊˈræŋ-, əˈræŋ-/.
Origin of orangutan
1690–1700; < New Latin, Dutch orang outang, apparently < pidgin or bazaar Malay: literally, forest man (Malay orang man, person + (h)utan forest
Also called orang.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for orangutan
baboon, ape, lemur, chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, rascal, monk, imp, scamp, simian, anthropoid, hominoid, monkey, human, man, gibbon, primate, humanoid, orangExamples from the Web for orangutan
Contemporary Examples of orangutan
Some dude slaps an orangutan around a little,” says Rick, “and they ask for $800,000,000.
But it is unlikely to make that transition itself, anymore than you could turn yourself into your neighbor, or an orangutan.
There was an orangutan sanctuary there, and I heard that they were taking volunteers.
The exhibit was intended as an example of the "missing link" between the orangutan and white man.
Sammy the orangutan has watched himself in Dunston Checks In, and he seemed to be interested.
Historical Examples of orangutan
Of the great man-like apes (gorilla, orangutan, and chimpanzee).
DactylographyHenry Faulds
He leaped from left to right, and back again, like an orangutan stirred to frenzied anger.
Captain Pott's MinisterFrancis L. Cooper
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper