noun

1. the largest, and most powerful of the great apes (Gorilla gorilla), native to the jungles of equatorial Africa: the adult male weighs up to 225 kg (c. 500 lb): it is generally shy, intelligent, and vegetarian
2. Slang
   1. a person regarded as like a gorilla in appearance, strength, etc.
   2. a gangster; thug

Etymology: < Gr gorillai, a tribe of hairy women, recorded by Hanno, Carthaginian navigator, as the native name in use in W Africa in the 5th c. for wild creatures found there