GC: n

S: PASA – https://pasa.org/awareness/difference-between-monkeys-and-apes/ (last access: 5 October 2023); CGA – https://centerforgreatapes.org/about-apes/ (last access: 5 October 2023).

N: 1. Old English apa (fem. ape) “an ape, a monkey,” from Proto-Germanic *apan (source also of Old Saxon apo, Old Norse api, Dutch aap, German affe), probably a borrowed word, perhaps from Celtic (compare Old Irish apa, Welsh epa) or Slavic (compare Old Bohemian op, Slovak opitza), and the whole group probably is ultimately from an Eastern or non-Indo-European language.

The common word in English until the emergence of monkey in 16c. More technically, in zoology, “a simian; a tail-less, man-like monkey,” by 1690s. The only native apes in Europe are the Barbary apes of Gibraltar, intelligent and docile, and these were the showman’s apes of the Middle Ages. Apes were noted in medieval times for mimicry of human action, hence, perhaps, the other figurative use of the word, to mean “a fool” (c. 1300).

To go ape “go crazy” is by 1953 (unsanitized or emphatic go apeshit is by 1954), American English; early attestations suggest armed forces slang. To lead apes in hell (1570s) was the fancied fate of one who died an old maid. Middle English plural was occasionally apen. Middle English also had ape-ware “deceptions, tricks.”

2. A large animal like a monkey, with no tail. There are different types of ape.

• the great apes (= for example, orangutans or chimpanzees).

3. What’s the Difference Between Monkeys and Apes? Monkeys and apes are both primates, which means they’re both part of the human family tree. As distinguished relatives, we should probably be able to tell them apart. But when you look at a gibbon or a marmoset, how do you know which is a monkey and which is an ape?

The quickest way to tell the difference between a monkey and an ape is by the presence or absence of a tail. Almost all monkeys have tails; apes do not. Their bodies are different in other ways too: monkeys are generally smaller and narrow-chested, while apes are larger and have broad chests and shoulder joints that allow them to swing through trees (while some monkeys also have this ability, most of them are built for running across branches rather than swinging). Although you can’t recognize this difference on sight, apes have an appendix and monkeys do not. Apes are generally more intelligent than monkeys, and most species of apes exhibit some use of tools. While both monkeys and apes can use sounds and gestures to communicate, apes have demonstrated higher ability with language, and some individual apes have been trained to learn human sign languages.

However, perhaps the best way to remember, like with so many things, is rote memorization. There are only a handful of ape species, while there are hundreds of species of monkeys. If the primate you’re trying to place is not a human, gibbon, chimpanzee, bonobo, orangutan, or gorilla (or a lemur, loris, or tarsier), then it’s a monkey.

4. simian: First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin sīmi(a) “an ape,” probably from the Greek nickname and personal name Sīmiās (derivative of sīmus “flat-nosed, snub-nosed,” from Greek sīmós ) + -an adjective suffix; -an.

– As an adjective: 1. of or relating to any of the monkeys or apes. 2. characteristic of apes or monkeys: long, simian fingers. 3. Disparaging and Offensive. (used to describe a member of a racial or ethnic minority group, especially a Black person).

– As a noun: 1. any of the monkeys or apes, classified into two subdivisions, the platyrrhines (New World monkeys) and the catarrhines (Old World monkeys and apes, including humans). haplorhine (belonging or pertaining to the suborder Haplorhini, which includes all tarsiers and simians; a haplorhine animal: modern taxonomy classifies the haplorhines and the strepsirrines as the two suborders of primates). 2. Disparaging and Offensive. (used as a slur against a member of a racial or ethnic minority group, especially a Black person).

5. What’s the difference between ape and simian? Simian is a synonym of ape.
– As nouns the difference between ape and simian is that ape is a primate of the clade Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail while simian is an ape or monkey, especially an anthropoid.
– As adjectives the difference between ape and simian is that ape is wild; crazy while simian is of or pertaining to apes; apely.
– As a verb ape is to behave like an ape.

6. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention the book and movies called Planet of the Apes.

S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=ape (last access: 5 October 2023). 2. OD – https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/ape_1?q=ape (last access: 5 October 2023). 3. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-monkeys-and-apes (last access: 5 October 2023). 4. Dict – https://www.dictionary.com/browse/simian, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/haplorhine (last access: 29 June 2024). 5. WikiDiff – https://wikidiff.com/ape/simian?utm_content=cmp-true (last access: 5 October 2023). 6. CBR – https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popfr/boullep1.htm (last access: 5 October 2023).

SYN: simian (depending on context)

S: WikiDiff – https://wikidiff.com/ape/simian?utm_content=cmp-true (last access: 5 October 2023)

CR: mpox