potto

[ pot-oh ]

noun,plural pot·tos.

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.

Origin of potto

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

See also strepsirrhine.

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

How to use potto in a sentence

The Pottos are slender-bodied animals, with oval heads and blunt Dog-shaped muzzles.
A Hand-book to the Primates, Volume 1 (of 2) | Henry O. Forbes

British Dictionary definitions for potto

potto

/ (ˈpɒtəʊ) /

nounplural -tos

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
golden potto another name for angwantibo

another name for kinkajou

Origin of potto

C18: of West African origin; compare Wolof pata type of tail-less monkey

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

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