pongid

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pon·gid

(pŏn′jĭd)

1. Any of various apes of the subfamily Ponginae, which includes only the orangutans and their extinct relatives.

2. Any of various apes of the formerly recognized family Pongidae, which included the chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. No longer in scientific use.

[From New Latin Pongidae, former family name, from Pongo, type genus, from obsolete French pongo, great ape of Africa, of Bantu origin; akin to western dialectal Kongo mpungu, gorilla.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pongid

(ˈpɒŋɡɪd; ˈpɒndʒɪd)

(Animals) any primate of the family Pongidae, which includes the gibbons and the great apes

adj

(Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the family Pongidae

[from New Latin Pongo type genus, from Kongo mpongi ape]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pon•gid

(ˈpɒn dʒɪd)

n.

any anthropoid ape of the family Pongidae, usu. comprising the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan.

[1950–55; < New Latin Pongidae=Pong(o) the type genus (said to be < Kongo mpongi, mpungu ape) + -idae -id²]

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Noun

pongid - any of the large anthropoid apes of the family Pongidae

great ape

anthropoid ape - any tailless ape of the families Pongidae and Hylobatidae

family Pongidae, Pongidae - usually considered as comprising orangutans; gorillas; chimpanzees; and sometimes gibbons

orang, orangutan, orangutang, Pongo pygmaeus - large long-armed ape of Borneo and Sumatra having arboreal habits

gorilla, Gorilla gorilla - largest anthropoid ape; terrestrial and vegetarian; of forests of central west Africa

chimp, chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes - intelligent somewhat arboreal ape of equatorial African forests

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References in periodicals archive ?

INTRODUCTION: In the family Hominids, the hand evolved with a combination of human and pongid characters.

A study of morphometry of hand in a group of people

The gestures of a gorilla: Language acquisition in another pongid, Brain and Language, 71-97.

The relationship of religious and existential variables to scores on the animal-human continuity scale

The pongid clade and the hominoid clade were thought to be descended, respectively, from the two extinct ape species Dryopithecus and Ramapithecus.