/məˈkeɪsʌɪ/, U.S. /məˈkeɪsaɪ/.Macacusn.
/məˈkeɪkəs/, U.S. /məˈkeɪkəs//məˈkeɪsʌɪ/, U.S. /məˈkeɪsaɪ/. Zoology. Now chiefly historical.
A genus (now called Macaca) of Old World monkeys of the family Cercopithecidae, originally comprising a large number of African and Asian species, but later restricted to a smaller number of chiefly Asian species; (also macacus) a member of this genus, a macaque.Although it was the name used throughout the 19th cent., Macacus is now considered an invalid variant of Macaca in zoological nomenclature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > order Primates > suborder Anthropoidea (higher primates) > [noun] > group Catarrhinae (Old World monkey) > family Cercopithecidae > genus Macaca (macaque)
macaque1757
macaco1774
egret monkey1780
Macacus1834
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 46 (heading) Macacus, or Macaques.
1860 W. Baird Dict. Nat. Hist. 119/2 The bonnet apes, Macacus, are inhabitants of Asia, and have short tails and very prominent eyebrows.
1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. i. 23 In..baboons and some species of macacus the upper portions of the ear is slightly pointed.
1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 152/1 The Macaci present us with the most northern forms of apes.
1893 Daily News 8 June 5/3 A small monkey, a macacus, has been placed in his cell to keep him [sc. an ourang-outang] company.
1898 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 190 85 The skin and musculature of the arm of Man are somewhat prefixed as compared with Macacus.
1974 W. C. O. Hill Primates VII. 6 As pointed out by Owen (1846), the genera Macacus, Cynocephalus and Papio (to quote his terminology) agree with the Semnopithecidae.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1834