ape
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ape¹
- /eɪp/
Rhymes with -eɪp
Where it comes from
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 apes
- An anthropoid of the superfamily Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail. 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.
- A Hominoidea primate other than a human.
- An unintelligent or unsophisticated person, especially one who behaves irrationally or in an uncivilised manner.
- A black person. Animalistic dehumanisation, 'simianisation' and the animalising of black bodies through metaphorically likening these individuals to 'baboons,' 'monkeys' or 'apes' reveals racialised animality discourse in South Africa.
- One who apes; a foolish imitator.
- A person who invests in meme stock, especially one who uses subreddits such as /r/wallstreetbets. I could not think of a better representation of the good in this world, let alone this r***^([sic]) band of apes on Reddit.
Similar: ape
verb apes · aping · apeing · aped
- To behave like an ape.
- To imitate or mimic, particularly to imitate poorly. And well their dignity it ſuits, / To ape the gravity of brutes.
ape²
- /eɪp/
Rhymes with -eɪp
Where it comes from
Clipping of apeshit (“ape-shit (crazy)”).
adjective
- Wild; crazy. We were ape over the new look.
APE³
noun APEs
- Initialism of alkylphenol ethoxylate The most important and commonly used APEs are nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), which account for 80% of the APE market.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: anthropoid, caricature, imitator, copy, imitate, copycat, pongid, primate, chimp, gorilla, simian, chimpanzee, monkey, baboon, hen, chicken
noun
Similar: ape
Translations
Every language
noun derogatory: uncivilized person
| Español | simio, mono, primate |
|---|---|
| Português | macaco, primata |
| Deutsch | Affe |
| Italiano | scimmione |
| Ελληνικά | πίθηκος píthikos |
| Русский | обезья́на obezʹjána |
noun primate of the clade Hominoidea
| 한국어 | 원숭이 wonsung'i, 유인원 yuinwon |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 猿 saru, サル saru, 類人猿 ruijin'en |
| 中文 | 猿 yuán, 無尾猿 /无尾猿 wúwěiyuán, 類人猿 /类人猿 lèirényuán |
| हिन्दी | कपि kapi, वानर vānar |
| Português | macaco, símio |
| Français | singe, hominoïdé, singe anthropoïde |
| Deutsch | Affe, Menschenaffe |
| Italiano | scimmia, ominide |
| Ελληνικά | πίθηκος píthikos |
| Română | maimuță |
| Русский | обезья́на obezʹjána, человекообра́зная обезья́на čelovekoobráznaja obezʹjána |
| Tiếng Việt | vượn, khỉ không đuôi |
| العربية | قِرْد qird, قِرْد بَشَرِيّ qird bašariyy |
| עברית | קוף kof, קוף אדם kof-adám |
noun any such primate other than a human
| हिन्दी | वानर vānar |
|---|
verb to behave like an ape
| Español | monear |
|---|---|
| Português | macaquear |
| Русский | обезья́нничать obezʹjánničatʹ, кривля́ться krivljátʹsja |
verb to imitate
| 日本語 | 猿真似する sarumane suru |
|---|---|
| Português | imitar, macaquear |
| Français | singer |
| Deutsch | nachäffen |
| Italiano | scimmiottare |
| Ελληνικά | πιθηκίζω pithikízo |
| Română | imita, maimuțări |
| Русский | подража́ть podražátʹ, имити́ровать imitírovatʹ, копи́ровать kopírovatʹ, передра́знивать peredráznivatʹ |
Talk about this word "ape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ape. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ape. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ape "ape." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ape.Cite this
@misc{ape_2026,
title = {ape},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ape},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
