Pithecanthropus

[pith-i-kan-thruh-puhs, -kuhn-throh-puhs]

noun

1. a former genus of extinct hominins whose members have now been assigned to the proposed species Homo erectus.

pithecanthropus

/ ˌpɪθɪkænˈθrəʊpəs, -ˈkænθrə- /

noun

1. any primitive apelike man of the former genus Pithecanthropus, now included in the genus Homo See Java man Peking man

pithecanthropus

1. An extinct hominid postulated from bones found in Java in 1891 and originally designated Pithecanthropus erectus because it was thought to represent a species evolutionarily between apes and humans. Pithecanthropus is now classified as Homo erectus.

2. Also called Java man

3. See more at Homo erectus

Other Word Forms

• pithecanthropine adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pithecanthropus¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from New Latin: literally “ape-man”; from Greek píthēk(os) “ape” + Greek ánthrōpos “human being”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pithecanthropus¹

C19: New Latin, from Greek pithēkos ape + anthrōpos man

Example Sentences

But after further inspection, he changed the name to Pithecanthropus erectus, an upright “ape-man.”

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Pithecanthropus raises the vexed question as to whether the erect attitude or brain development came first in the story.

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Prior to that there are some evidences of extinct species, such as Pithecanthropus Erectus, the Grimaldi man, the Heidelberg man, and the Neanderthal.

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As such it was christened Pithecanthropus erectus, the erect ape-man.

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Lastly, Dubois has discovered in Java the cranium of Pithecanthropus erectus which is intermediate between that of the orang-utan and man.

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