monkey

Where “monkey” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails, and cheek pouches.
2. 2
   Any simian, including humans.
3. 3
   Any simian primate other than hominids; any monkey or ape.
4. 4
   A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
5. 5
   A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
6. 6
   A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
7. 7
   A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
8. 8
   A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
9. 9
   A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
10. 10
    A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
11. 11
    A penis.
12. 12
    A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
13. 13
    The vessel in which a mess receives its full allowance of grog.
14. 14
    The weight of a pile driver or drop hammer.
15. 15
    A fluid consisting of hydrochloric acid and zinc, used in the process of soldering.
16. 16
    Synonym of five hundred, especially (British) 500 pounds sterling or (US, dated) 500 dollars.
17. 17
    Synonym of face card.
18. 18
    A person's temper, said to be "up" when they are angry.
19. 19
    A drug habit; an addiction; a compulsion.
20. 20
    A dance popularized by Major Lance in 1963, now usually only its upper-body dance move involving exaggerated drumming motions.

Etymology

Uncertain: * May be derived from monk + -ey (diminutive suffix), * or borrowed from Middle Low German Moneke, the name of the son of Martin the Ape in Reynard the Fox (which may represent an unattested colloquial Middle Low German *moneke, *moneken), itself of uncertain origin: ** Possibly derived from a Romance term represented by Late Middle French monne (whence Modern French mone (“monkey”)) or earlier Old French monnekin (“monkey”), originally Monnekin, the name of a monkey in Li Dis d'Entendement. Compare also Old French and Middle French monin (“monkey”). *** The French terms may have been borrowed from Italian monna (“monkey”), from Old Spanish mona (“female monkey”), itself a shortening of mamona, variant of maimón, from Arabic مَيْمُون (maymūn, “baboon”)). *** However, Old French monnekin may alternatively be unrelated to the other terms, instead being a borrowing of Early Middle Dutch mannekin (a diminutive of man, literally “little human”), and if so monkey is a doublet of mannequin; see modern Dutch manneken.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mmonkey,mnokey,mokney,moneky,monkeyy,monkkey,monkye,monnkey,omnkey

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of monkey - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Frequently Asked Questions