rhesus monkey

British

noun

a macaque monkey, Macaca mulatta , of S Asia: used extensively in medical research

"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

rhesus monkey Scientific

/ rē′səs /

A small, yellowish-brown monkey (Macaca mulatta) of India, widely used in biological and medical research. The Rh (Rhesus) factor was first discovered in rhesus monkeys.

Etymology

Origin of rhesus monkey

C19: New Latin, arbitrarily from Greek Rhesos _Rhesus

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

“Like an orphaned rhesus monkey in the snow. It’s a howl of pain or rage.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2022

Researchers discovered the virus that came to be called Zika in 1947 in the blood of a rhesus monkey in Uganda’s Zika Forest.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 4, 2020

It was all harmless fun at first for Baker, a squirrel monkey, and her space travel companion, Able, a rhesus monkey, in the run-up to their 16-minute space flight on May 28, 1959.

From Time • Nov. 7, 2017

His voice was as loud as the scolding of a rhesus monkey high in the sundari trees.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023