monkey

1. any of numerous long-tailed primates excluding the prosimians (lemurs, tarsiers, etc.): comprise the families Cercopithecidae (see Old World monkey), Cebidae (see New World monkey), and Callithricidae (marmosets)

2. any primate except man

3. the head of a pile-driver (monkey engine) or of some similar mechanical device

4. Nautical denoting a small light structure or piece of equipment contrived to suit an immediate purpose

5. Slang (esp in bookmaking) ?500

6. US and Canadian slang $500

7. Austral slang., archaic a sheep

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Monkey

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The monkey is one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. It refers to one of the 12 earthly branches that are used in Chinese astrology, together with the 10 heavenly stems. Such a branch designates one day every 12 days: the days are named according to a sexagesimal (60) cycle, made of 10 series of 12 branches.

The monkey is often a hilarious live wire even if he is sometimes subject to depression. Energetic (frenetic even), opportunistic, but unpredictable, crafty, inventive and clever, he is not adaptable to routine work. He loves to make an exhibition of himself, and finds losing or being contradicted hard to take.

—Michele Delemme

What does it mean when you dream about a monkey?

We typically think about monkeys as foolish, humorous and curious. Dream monkeys can represent any of these qualities. The also might be alluding to the meanings of such common idioms as to “monkey around,” “monkey business.” or to “make a monkey” out of someone.

monkey

[′məŋ·kē]

(mining engineering)

An appliance for mechanically gripping or releasing the rope in rope haulage.

An airway in an anthracite mine.

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of several species of frugivorous and carnivorous primates which compose the families Cercopithecidae and Cebidae in the suborder Anthropoidea; the face is typically flattened and hairless, all species are pentadactyl, and the mammary glands are always in the pectoral region.

monkey

known to copy human actions. [Western Cult.: Misc.]

See: Mimicry

Monkey

(dreams)

The monkey is a symbol that needs to be understood by considering the various associations that we make when thinking about them. Monkeys may represent lust, selfsatisfaction, and trickery. A monkey may also represent positive attributes, such as agility, inspiration, a sense of freedom, and a capacity to imitate. In Japan, toys that look like monkeys are given to children because monkeys are supposed to be able to drive out evil spirits. In India, the monkey is a symbol of soul. Thus, monkeys as symbols appear to have a twin meaning. Whether positive or negative, the monkey is revealing something to you about what is going on in your inner world. People usually think that monkeys are far less evolved and the expression “stop monkeying around” is understood by all. The dream with a monkey may be an encouragement from you unconscious to continue to develop your personality by staying close to your own nature.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

To conduct the study, Miyagawa and Clarke re-evaluated recordings of Old World monkeys, a family of primates with over 100 species, including baboons, macaques, and the probiscis monkey.

MIT - Comparing primate vocalizations

The new report "makes a strong case that Old World monkeys and apes had already diverged 25 million years ago," says K.

Fossils reveal primate history: jaws and teeth shed light on ape-monkey split

Old world monkeys are a diverse and widespread group, which include African and Asian macaques, baboons, mangabeys, leaf monkeys and langurs.

8 million-year-old monkey fossil found in Western Region

Studies of clock-like mutations in primate DNA have indicated that the split between apes and Old World monkeys occurred between 30 million and 25 million years ago.

Oldest evidence of split between Old World monkeys and apes uncovered

Seroprevalence of echovirus and enterovirus among apes and Old World monkeys, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe No.

High seroprevalence of enterovirus infections in apes and old world monkeys

A slope-faced, big-toothed creature from the distant past has led scientists to recalibrate the ancient evolutionary split between apes and Old World monkeys.

Primates' evolutionary clock reset: fossil find moves split between apes and Old World monkeys

Simian T-cell lymphotropic viruses, enzootic in both Asian and African Old World monkeys and apes, may have repeatedly crossed the species barrier (7,8).

Primate-to-human retroviral transmission in Asia

Still, the new findings indicate that some capacity for emotional interactions between mothers and infants evolved more than 30 million years ago in a common ancestor of humans, apes and Old World monkeys (including macaques), says psychologist Kim Bard of the University of Portsmouth in England.

Monkey moms have their own kind of baby talk: macaques smack their lips to exchange emotional cues

In another study, old world monkeys called Mangabeys were shown to modulate their begging behavior based on whether the experimenter was paying attention to them.

Chimps choose tools based on its weight

It's one of 22 species of macaques, all of which are classified as Old World monkeys.

Primate's progress: macaque genome is usefully different

"Lip smacking is performed by all Old World monkeys and apes, including chimpanzees, and is used in friendly, face-to-face interactions.

Human speech 'may have evolved from monkey lip smack'

An ancestor of the howler monkeys had apparently matched the gene duplication that Old World monkeys experienced, yet the evolutionary force preserving the new opsin doesn't appear to have been an advantage in gathering fruit.

Visionary research: scientists delve into the evolution of color vision in primates