potto

American  

[pot-oh] / ˈpɒt oʊ /

noun

pottos plural

1. a small arboreal mammal, Perodictus potto, in the loris family, similar in appearance and behavior to the kinkajou and olingo: classified as the sole species in its genus, but its subspecies are significantly varied.

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potto British  

/ ˈpɒtəʊ /

noun

1. a short-tailed prosimian primate, Perodicticus potto, having vertebral spines protruding through the skin in the neck region, native to tropical forests in West and Central Africa: family Lorisidae

2. another name for angwantibo

3. another name for kinkajou

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• pottos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of potto

First recorded in 1760–70; from a Niger-Congo language, perhaps Wolof pata “tailless monkey,” or Twi apɔsɔ “fierce monkeylike animal”