baboon

Definition

An Old World monkey of the genus Papio, having dog-like muzzles and large canine teeth, cheek pouches, a short tail, and naked callosities on the buttocks.

Etymology

From Middle English babewin, baboin, from Old French babouin, from baboue (“grimace; muzzle”), of West Germanic origin, related to dialectal German Bäppe (“lips; muzzle”), Middle High German beffen (“to bark”), Middle English baffen (“to bark”). See also baff, baffle.

Example Sentences

• "Mix swallowed the comment he wanted to make, that the council hall stank like a congress of baboons. But he was in no position to insult his host, nor should he. The man was only expressing the attitude of his time."
• "He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record."

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