Etymologically
Log in

monkey

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmʌŋki/[1]

Etymology

It is of uncertain or unknown origin,[2][3][4][5] probably from Middle Low German Moneke, or a Middle Dutch or Flemish diminutive such as Monnekin,[2][3][6] ultimately from a Romance word, compare French monne, Old Italian monna and Spanish mona (“ape, monkey”).[2][3] In a Low German version of Reynard the Fox (1498), Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape,[2][3] and the word may have reached English through itinerant German entertainers.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Any animal of the group of primates other than man: 1530, in Palsgrave;[3][7] the 1520s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is not found in Middle English, where ape was the usual word for all apes and monkeys.[2][5] A person resembling a monkey, a mimic, is from 1589,[7] and a playful term of contempt for young people from 1604.[7] The verb, to mimic, is from 1859,[3][2] to play foolish tricks from 1881,[2] and to monkey with, to meddle, by 1884.[2] Word Origins dates monkey tricks to the mid-17th century and American monkeyshines and monkey business to the mid-19th.[5] The three wise monkeys are named from 1926.[7]

Timeline

  • 1530 – the animal.[3]
  • 1589 – a mimic.[7]
  • mid-17th century – monkey tricks.[5]
  • 1859 – the verb.[3]
  • 1884 – to monkey with.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of many long-tailed primates, excluding the apes and prosimians, such as macaques and capuchins.
  2. A mischievous person, especially a child.

Verb

  1. (monkey with, informal) To fiddle or tamper with something.
  2. To behave in a silly or mischievous way.

Word family

  • monkeyish
  • monkeyishly
  • monkeyishness
  • ape
  • monkey business
  • monkeyshine

Usage notes

In dialect a monkey was also a hod in Dorset and a mortgage in North Yorkshire.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)