Pithecanthropus

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

/ ˌpɪθ ɪˈkæn θrə pəs, -kənˈθroʊ pəs /

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noun

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

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Origin of Pithecanthropus

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

Words nearby Pithecanthropus

pit grave, pith, pithead, pithecanthrope, pithecanthropoid, Pithecanthropus, pithecoid, pith helmet, Pithom, pithos, pith ray

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Pithecanthropus in a sentence

The thigh-bone shows that Pithecanthropus could have stood and walked erect quite comfortably.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler
First, that the skull-cap of Pithecanthropus is on all sides admitted to shew provision for powerful jaw-muscles.
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth
Taking the first group (Pithecanthropus and Homo heidelbergensis) it is to be noticed that close correlation is quite possible.
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth
With the exception of Pithecanthropus, all the discoveries mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs were made in Europe.
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth

In the first place, come the examples described as Pithecanthropus and Homo heidelbergensis (Mauer).
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth

British Dictionary definitions for Pithecanthropus

pithecanthropus

/ (ˌpɪθɪkænˈθrəʊpəs, -ˈkænθrə-) /

noun plural -pi (-ˌpaɪ)

any primitive apelike man of the former genus Pithecanthropus, now included in the genus HomoSee Java man, Peking man

Derived forms of pithecanthropus

pithecanthropine or pithecanthropoid, adjective

Word Origin for pithecanthropus

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

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

Scientific definitions for Pithecanthropus

pithecanthropus

[ pĭth′ĭ-kăn′thrə-pəs, -kăn-thrō′pəs ]

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. Also called Java man See more at Homo erectus.