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• rhesus
  rhesus

  noun

  a macaque, Macaca mulatta, of India, used in experimental medicine.
• Rhesus
  Rhesus

  noun

  Greek myth a king of Thrace, who arrived in the tenth year of the Trojan War to aid Troy. Odysseus and Diomedes stole his horses because an oracle had said that if these horses drank from the River Xanthus, Troy would not fall

rhesus

American  

[ree-suhs] / ˈri səs /

noun

1. a macaque, Macaca mulatta, of India, used in experimental medicine.

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Rhesus British  

/ ˈriːsəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a king of Thrace, who arrived in the tenth year of the Trojan War to aid Troy. Odysseus and Diomedes stole his horses because an oracle had said that if these horses drank from the River Xanthus, Troy would not fall

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rhesian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of rhesus

1830–40; < New Latin, arbitrary use of Latin Rhēsus name of a Thracian king allied with Troy < Greek Rhêsos

Example Sentences

On a tiny island called Cayo Santiago off the coast of Puerto Rico exists a colony of about 1,800 rhesus macaques.

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2025

For example, in rhesus monkeys, infants who are separated from their mothers soon after birth, are more susceptible to disease later in life.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024

Writing in the journal Nature communications, the researchers say they have essentially done the same thing but with a rhesus monkey.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2024

Chinese researchers have cloned the first rhesus monkey, a species which is widely used in medical research because its physiology is similar to humans.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2024

Neel strained to hear the sound of a soft mew of a cub, but the chatter of the rhesus monkeys and Headmaster’s loud panting made it impossible to hear anything else.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins