Gorilla
/ɡəˈrɪl.ə/noun
A large, powerfully built African ape with a broad chest and long arms.
Did you know?The name entered English from a Greek travel text by Hanno the Navigator, where it described wild, hairy beings on the West African coast—possibly not gorillas at all, but the word stuck anyway.
Etymological Timeline
5th Century BCE
Greek
Γόριλλαι (Gorillai)
“A reported tribe or group of hairy wild women on the West African coast in Hanno's account”
Late Latin
Latin
gorilla
“A name preserved from the Greek travel narrative”
19th Century
English
gorilla
“Applied as the modern name for the great ape after Western scientific description”
Modern English
English
gorilla
“A large African ape of the genus Gorilla”