ape

See also: Ape, APE, ápe, åpe, apé, apê, apë, and a pé

English

An ape: the silvery gibbon

Pronunciation

• enPR: āp, IPA^(key): /eɪp/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪp

Etymology 1

From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English place name Avon, Irish abha, Welsh afon), if the word originally referred to a "water sprite". Traditionally assumed to be an ancient loanword instead, ultimately probably from an unidentified non-Indo-European language of regions in Africa or Asia where monkeys are native. Cognate with Scots aip (“ape”), West Frisian aap (“ape”), Dutch aap (“monkey, ape”), Low German Ape (“ape”), German Affe (“monkey, ape”), Swedish apa (“monkey, ape”), Icelandic api (“ape”).

Noun

ape (plural apes)

1. A primate of the clade Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail.
   • 1528 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), William Tyndale, “William Tyndale other wise Called William Hychins vnto the Reader”, in The Obediẽce of a Christen Man […], [Antwerp]: [Johannes Hoochstraten], →OCLC, folio xix, recto:

     Of vvhat texte thou proveſt hell / vvill a nother prove purgatory / a nother lymbo patrum / and a nother the aſſumpcion of oure ladi: And a nother ſhall prove of the ſame texte that an Ape hath a tayle.

2. Any such primate other than a human.
3. (derogatory) An uncivilized person.
4. One who apes; a foolish imitator.

Hyponyms

• (young or small): apeling, apelet (uncommon)
• (female): apess (rare)
• See also Thesaurus:ape

Derived terms

• ape-baboon (macaque)
• ape-bearer
• apedom
• apefirmative action
• ape-fissure
• apefly
• Apefrica
• Apefrican
• apegirl
• apehanger
• ape hanger
• ape hangers
• apehood
• apekind
• Apelanta
• ape leader
• apelet
• apelike
• apeling
• apely
• apeman
• ape-man
• apeness
• ape-person
• aperest
• apery
• apesault
• ape shit
• apeshit
• apess
• apewoman
• apish
• aquatic ape hypothesis
• aquatic ape theory
• Barbary ape
• Bili ape
• black ape (Macaca nigra)
• go ape
• God's ape
• great ape
• gutter ape
• gutter ape
• half-ape
• hog-ape
• hog-faced ape
• lesser ape
• like a raped ape
• man ape
• naked ape
• North American wood ape
• nose ape
• pavement ape
• rape ape
• red ape
• sacred ape
• sea ape
• semi-ape
• she-ape
• skunk ape
• stoned ape theory
• street ape
• swamp ape
• sysape
• teenaper
• yard ape

 

Translations

primate of the clade Hominoidea

• Afrikaans: aap (af)
• Albanian: majmun (sq)
• Arabic: قِرْد (ar) m (qird)

  Egyptian Arabic: قرْد ('erd)

  Moroccan Arabic: قرْد (qərd)

• Armenian: մարդանման կապիկ (mardanman kapik), կապիկ (hy) (kapik) (ape or monkey)
• Belarusian: ма́лпа (be) f (málpa) (ape or monkey), чалавекападо́бная ма́лпа f (čalavjekapadóbnaja málpa)
• Bulgarian: майму́на (bg) f (majmúna) (ape or monkey), човекоподо́бна майму́на f (čovekopodóbna majmúna)
• Catalan: mico (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 猿 (jyun⁴), 無尾猿／无尾猿 (mou⁴ mei⁵ jyun⁴), 類人猿／类人猿 (leoi⁶ jan⁴ jyun⁴)

  Dungan: жынху (řɨnhu) (人猴)

  Mandarin: 猿 (zh) (yuán), 無尾猿／无尾猿 (zh) (wúwěiyuán), 類人猿／类人猿 (zh) (lèirényuán)

• Coptic: ⲉⲛ m (en)
• Czech: opice (cs) f
• Danish: abe (da) c, menneskeabe c
• Dutch: aap (nl) m, apin (nl) f, mensaap (nl) m
• Esperanto: simio (eo) (ape or monkey; common), homoideo (technical)
• Estonian: ahv (et)
• Faroese: apa (fo) f
• Finnish: ihmisapina (fi)
• French: singe (fr) m, hominoïdé m, singe anthropoïde m
• Galician: simio m
• Georgian: მაიმუნი (ka) (maimuni)
• German: Affe (de) m (ape or monkey), Menschenaffe (de) m (ape specifically)
• Greek: πίθηκος (el) m (píthikos)

  Ancient: πῐ́θηκος m (píthēkos)

• Hebrew: קוף (he) m (kof) (ape or monkey), קוף אדם m (kof-adám) (ape specifically)
• Hindi: कपि (hi) m (kapi), वानर (hi) m (vānar)
• Hungarian: majom (hu), emberszabású majom (hu)
• Icelandic: api (is) m
• Indonesian: kera (id)
• Irish: ápa m
• Italian: scimmia (it) f, ominide (it) m
• Japanese: 猿 (ja) (さる, saru) (ape or monkey), サル (ja) (saru), 類人猿 (ja) (るいじんえん, ruijin'en)
• Khmer: ស្វា (km) (svaa)
• Korean: (ape or monkey) 원숭이 (ko) (wonsung'i), 유인원(類人猿) (ko) (yuinwon)
• Lao: ຖັກແທ່ (thak thǣ), ວານອນ (wā nǭn) (ape or monkey), ລິງ (ling) (ape or monkey)
• Latin: sīmia (la) f, sīmius m, clūra f
• Latvian: pērtiķis m (ape or monkey)
• Lithuanian: beždžiõnė (lt) f, (member of the family Pongidae) žmõgbeždžionė f
• Low German:

  German Low German: Aap (nds) m, Oop (nds) m

• Luxembourgish: Af m
• Macedonian: мајмун (mk) m (majmun), човеколик мајмун m (čovekolik majmun)
• Malay: mawas (ms)
• Maltese: xadin
• Maori: makimaki
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: сармагчин (mn) (sarmagčin)

  Mongolian: ᠰᠠᠷᠮᠠᠭᠴᠢᠨ (sarmaɣčin)

• Navajo: mágí
• Ngazidja Comorian: nkima class 9/10
• Norman: marmoûset m
• North Frisian: (Mooring) ååwe n; (Föhr-Amrum) aab n
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ape (no) m or f, menneskeape m or f

  Nynorsk: ape m or f

• Old English: apa m
• Oromo: qamalee (om)
• Ottoman Turkish: میمون (maymun)
• Persian:

  Dari: مَیْمُون (fa) (maymūn), بُوزِینَه (fa) (būzīna), کَپِی (fa) (kapī), کَپِّی (fa) (kappī)

  Iranian Persian: مِیْمون (fa) (meymun), بوزینِه (fa) (buzine), کَپی (fa) (kapi), کَپّی (fa) (kappi)

• Plautdietsch: Op f
• Polish: małpa (pl) f (ape or monkey), małpa człekokształtna f
• Portuguese: macaco (pt) m, símio (pt) m
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਬਣਮਾਣਸ m (baṇmāṇas)

• Romanian: maimuță (ro) f
• Russian: обезья́на (ru) f (obezʹjána) (ape or monkey), человекообра́зная обезья́на f (čelovekoobráznaja obezʹjána)
• Sanskrit: कपि (sa) m (kapi)
• Saterland Frisian: Oape
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ма̀јмун m, човеколики мајмун m, човјеколики мајмун m

  Roman: màjmun (sh) m, čovekoliki majmun m, čovjekoliki majmun m

• Slovak: opica (sk) f, človečnjak m
• Slovene: opica (sl) f
• Spanish: simio (es) m, hominoideo m, hominoide m
• Swedish: människoapa (sv) c, apa (sv) c (ape or monkey)
• Tagalog: bakulaw, ugaw (big)
• Tajik: маймун (tg) (maymun)
• Thai: ลิงไม่มีหาง (ling-mâi-mii-hǎang), ลิง (th) (ling) (ape or monkey), จ๋อ (jɔ̌ɔ) (ape or monkey)
• Tibetan: མི་རྒོད (mi rgod)
• Turkish: insansı maymun (tr)
• Ukrainian: ма́впа (uk) f (mávpa) (ape or monkey), людиноподі́бна ма́впа f (ljudynopodíbna mávpa)
• Urdu: بَنْدَر m (bandar), وانَر m (vānar), کَپی m (kapī)
• Vietnamese: vượn (vi), khỉ không đuôi
• Volapük: lep (vo)
• Walloon: mårticot (wa) m, séndje (wa) m
• Welsh: epa m
• West Frisian: aap (fy) c
• Zazaki: apeka
• Zulu: inkawu (zu) class 9/10

any such primate other than a human

• Finnish: ihmisapina (fi); apina (fi) (colloquial)
• Hindi: वानर (hi) (vānar)

derogatory: uncivilized person

• Catalan: simi (ca) m, mico (ca) m, primat m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: apina (fi)
• German: Affe (de) m
• Greek: πίθηκος (el) m (píthikos)
• Hungarian: majom (hu)
• Italian: scimmione m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Aap (nds) m, Oop (nds) m

• Macedonian: мајмун (mk) m (majmun)
• Portuguese: macaco (pt) m, primata (pt) m
• Russian: обезья́на (ru) f (obezʹjána)
• Spanish: simio (es) m, mono (es), primate (es) m

foolish imitator

• Finnish: apina (fi)

Verb

ape (third-person singular simple present apes, present participle aping or apeing, simple past and past participle aped)

1. (intransitive) To behave like an ape.
2. (transitive) To imitate or mimic, particularly to imitate poorly.
   • 1772, [Thomas Bridges], “Something by Way of Preface”, in A Burlesque Translation of Homer, London: Printed for S. Hooper, […], →OCLC:

     And well their dignity it ſuits, / To ape the gravity of brutes.

   • 1847, Emily Brontë, chapter XXI, in Wuthering Heights‎^[1]:

     But there’s this difference; one is gold put to the use of paving-stones, and the other is tin polished to ape a service of silver.

   • 1961, J. A. Philip, “Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato,”, in Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, volume 92, page 454:

     It is not conceived as a mere “aping” in externals nor as an enacting in the sense of assuming a foreign role.

   • 2010, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, New York: Random House, →ISBN, page 180:

     Every year a paper or a book appears, bemoaning the fate of economics and complaining about its attempts to ape physics.

Derived terms

• aper

Translations

to behave like an ape

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: käyttäytyä kuin apina
• Hungarian: majomkodik (hu)
• Portuguese: macaquear
• Spanish: monear (es)

to imitate

• Afrikaans: na-aap (af)
• Bulgarian: подражавам (bg) (podražavam)
• Catalan: imitar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: napodobovat impf, opičit se impf
• Dutch: na-apen (nl), nadoen (nl), nabootsen (nl), imiteren (nl)
• Esperanto: simii
• Finnish: matkia (fi), apinoida (fi)
• French: singer (fr)
• German: nachäffen (de)
• Greek: πιθηκίζω (el) (pithikízo)
• Hungarian: majmol (hu)
• Icelandic: apa eftir
• Italian: scimmiottare (it)
• Japanese: 猿真似する (ja) (sarumane suru)
• Persian: کپی کردن (fa) (kapi kardan), تقلید کردن (fa) (taqlid kardan)
• Polish: małpować (pl), imitować (pl)
• Portuguese: imitar (pt), macaquear
• Romanian: imita (ro), maimuțări (ro)
• Russian: (act the ape) обезья́нничать (ru) (obezʹjánničatʹ), подража́ть (ru) (podražátʹ)
• Spanish: remedar (es), imitar (es), arremedar (es)
• Swedish: härma (sv), apa efter (sv)
• Ukrainian: мавпувати (mavpuvaty)

Etymology 2

Clipping of apeshit (“ape-shit (crazy)”).

Adjective

ape (not comparable)

1. (slang) Wild; crazy.

   We were ape over the new look.

   He went ape when he heard the bad news.

See also

• monkey
• troop (collective noun)
• Appendix: Animals

Anagrams

• EAP, EPA, PAE, PEA, Pae, Pea, pea

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑː.pə/

Noun

ape

1. plural of aap

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin aqua.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈape]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ape f (plural api, definite articulation apa)

1. Alternative form of apã

Corsican

Noun

ape

1. plural of apa

Finnish

Etymology

appaa +‎ -e

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑpeˣ/, [ˈɑ̝pe̞(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -ɑpe
• Hyphenation^(key): ape

Noun

ape

1. horse feed
2. (colloquial) food

Declension

Inflection of ape (Kotus type 48*B/hame, pp-p gradation)
nominative		ape	appeet
genitive		appeen	appeiden appeitten
partitive		apetta	appeita
illative		appeeseen	appeisiin appeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		ape	appeet
accusative	nom.	ape	appeet
	gen.	appeen
genitive		appeen	appeiden appeitten
partitive		apetta	appeita
inessive		appeessa	appeissa
elative		appeesta	appeista
illative		appeeseen	appeisiin appeihin
adessive		appeella	appeilla
ablative		appeelta	appeilta
allative		appeelle	appeille
essive		appeena	appeina
translative		appeeksi	appeiksi
abessive		appeetta	appeitta
instructive		—	appein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of ape (Kotus type 48*B/hame, pp-p gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative appeeni appeeni accusative nom. appeeni appeeni gen. appeeni genitive appeeni appeideni appeitteni partitive apettani appeitani inessive appeessani appeissani elative appeestani appeistani illative appeeseeni appeisiini appeihini adessive appeellani appeillani ablative appeeltani appeiltani allative appeelleni appeilleni essive appeenani appeinani translative appeekseni appeikseni abessive appeettani appeittani instructive — — comitative — appeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative appeesi appeesi accusative nom. appeesi appeesi gen. appeesi genitive appeesi appeidesi appeittesi partitive apettasi appeitasi inessive appeessasi appeissasi elative appeestasi appeistasi illative appeeseesi appeisiisi appeihisi adessive appeellasi appeillasi ablative appeeltasi appeiltasi allative appeellesi appeillesi essive appeenasi appeinasi translative appeeksesi appeiksesi abessive appeettasi appeittasi instructive — — comitative — appeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative appeemme appeemme accusative nom. appeemme appeemme gen. appeemme genitive appeemme appeidemme appeittemme partitive apettamme appeitamme inessive appeessamme appeissamme elative appeestamme appeistamme illative appeeseemme appeisiimme appeihimme adessive appeellamme appeillamme ablative appeeltamme appeiltamme allative appeellemme appeillemme essive appeenamme appeinamme translative appeeksemme appeiksemme abessive appeettamme appeittamme instructive — — comitative — appeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative appeenne appeenne accusative nom. appeenne appeenne gen. appeenne genitive appeenne appeidenne appeittenne partitive apettanne appeitanne inessive appeessanne appeissanne elative appeestanne appeistanne illative appeeseenne appeisiinne appeihinne adessive appeellanne appeillanne ablative appeeltanne appeiltanne allative appeellenne appeillenne essive appeenanne appeinanne translative appeeksenne appeiksenne abessive appeettanne appeittanne instructive — — comitative — appeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative appeensa appeensa accusative nom. appeensa appeensa gen. appeensa genitive appeensa appeidensa appeittensa partitive apettaan apettansa appeitaan appeitansa inessive appeessaan appeessansa appeissaan appeissansa elative appeestaan appeestansa appeistaan appeistansa illative appeeseensa appeisiinsa appeihinsa adessive appeellaan appeellansa appeillaan appeillansa ablative appeeltaan appeeltansa appeiltaan appeiltansa allative appeelleen appeellensa appeilleen appeillensa essive appeenaan appeenansa appeinaan appeinansa translative appeekseen appeeksensa appeikseen appeiksensa abessive appeettaan appeettansa appeittaan appeittansa instructive — — comitative — appeineen appeinensa

Further reading

• “ape”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Guaraní

Noun

ape

1. back

Interlingua

Etymology

From Latin apis, apem.

Noun

ape (plural apes)

1. bee

Related terms

• apicultura

Italian

Etymology

From Latin apem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.pe/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ape
• Hyphenation: à‧pe

Noun

ape f (plural api)

1. (entomology) bee

   Synonym: pecchia

2. (colloquial) honeybee

   Synonyms: ape da miele, ape domestica

Related terms

• ape regina
• apiario
• apicoltura
• apino
• apiterapia

 

Further reading

• ape on the Italian Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^it

Anagrams

• epa

Latin

Verb

ape

1. second-person singular present active imperative of apō

References

• “ape”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Mauritian Creole

Alternative forms

• pe

Etymology

From French après. Compare Haitian Creole ap.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /(a)pe/

Verb

ape (medial form ape)

1. (auxiliary) Used to indicate present progressive tense or the continuous tense in general, commonly shortened to "pe" in speech.

Related terms

• ti ape

Mbyá Guaraní

Noun

ape (non-possessed form tape)

1. path
2. road, street

Middle English

Alternative forms

• eape, aape

Etymology

From Old English apa, from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaːp(ə)/

Noun

ape (plural apes or apen)

1. An ape or monkey; a simian creature.
2. A deceiver; a conman or charlatan.
3. A gullible or foolish person.

Descendants

• English: ape
• Scots: ape, aip

References

• “āpe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-15.

Neapolitan

Noun

ape

1. plural of apa

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːpe/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse api.

Noun

ape f or m (definite singular apa or apen, indefinite plural aper, definite plural apene)

1. ape, monkey

Related terms

• apekatt
• primat

Etymology 2

Verb

ape (imperative ap, present tense aper, passive apes, simple past apa or apet or apte, past participle apa or apet or apt, present participle apende)

1. to ape, mimic or imitate.

References

• “ape” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse api.

Noun

ape m (definite singular apen, indefinite plural apar, definite plural apane)

ape f (definite singular apa, indefinite plural aper, definite plural apene)

1. ape, monkey

Related terms

• apekatt
• primat

Etymology 2

Verb

ape (present tense apar, past tense apa, past participle apa, passive infinitive apast, present participle apande, imperative ape/ap)

1. e-infinitive form of apa

References

• “ape” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈape]

Noun

ape

1. inflection of apă:
   1. plural
   2. genitive/dative singular

Sardinian

Alternative forms

• abe

Etymology

From Latin apis, apem. Compare Logudorese abe, Campidanese abi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈape/

Noun

ape f (plural apes)

1. (Nuorese) bee

Derived terms

• ape mascru
• ape reina

 

Related terms

• abbutu
• apiana
• apiolu
• apiàriu
• àbia

 

References

• Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964) Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg
• Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes