Orangutan Definition

ô-răngə-tăn, ō-răng-, ə-răng-
orangutans
noun
orangutans
A great ape (Pongo pygmaeus) with shaggy, reddish-brown hair, very long arms, small ears, and a hairless face: it is smaller than the gorilla and is found only in the swampy, coastal jungles of Borneo and Sumatra.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Orangutan

Noun

Singular:
orangutan
Plural:
orangutans

Origin of Orangutan

  • Malay orang (“person", "man") + hutan (“forest") "forest man". The name "orang utan (sic)" appears to have been bestowed by Europeans. The indigenous name given to the apes Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii by locals historically was mawas.

    From Wiktionary

  • Malay orang hutan orang man hutan wilderness, jungle

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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