Colobine
/ˈkɒl.ə.baɪn/noun
Relating to the colobus monkeys, especially the leaf-eating Old World monkeys of the subfamily Colobinae.
Did you know?The name refers to the colobus monkey’s dramatically reduced thumb, a feature ancient zoologists interpreted as if the animal had been deliberately mutilated.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
κολοβός (kolobos)
“Docked, mutilated, or truncated”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κολοβόω (koloboō)
“To mutilate, cut short, or deprive of a part”
19th Century
New Latin
Colobus
“A taxonomic genus name for African monkeys with reduced thumbs”
19th Century
Scientific English
Colobinae
“The zoological subfamily containing colobus monkeys and related leaf-eating monkeys”
Modern English
English
colobine
“Relating to the colobus-monkey group”