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1. Either of two large apes (Gorilla gorilla or G. beringei) native to the forests of equatorial Africa, having a stocky body and coarse dark brown or black hair.
a. A powerfully built, aggressive, and often crude man.
b. A thug.
[New Latin (Trōglodytēs) gorilla, former species name, from Greek Gorillai, a tribe of hairy women, perhaps of African origin.]
Word History: Two traditions of exploration come together in the history of the word gorilla. When Dr. Thomas S. Savage, an American missionary to western Africa, made the first scientific description of a gorilla in 1847, he gave the animal he was describing the New Latin name Troglodytes gorilla. In formulating this name, Savage was making reference to the Periplus, an ancient Greek version of a report (originally written in Punic) in which Hanno, a Carthiginian public official and navigator, describes a voyage he undertook to West Africa. Sometime after 500 bc (the date of his voyage is uncertain), Hanno sailed out of the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar and followed the coast of Africa southward at least as far as Sierra Leone—perhaps even going as far as Cameroon. In his report, Hanno tells of seeing members of a tribe of hairy women called Gorillai, the name of which he allegedly learned from local informants. In fact, the Gorillai that he saw may have been chimpanzees or perhaps even the apes that we call gorillas today, using the name that Savage bestowed on them twenty-four centuries after Hanno's voyage.
1. (Animals) the largest anthropoid ape, Gorilla gorilla, inhabiting the forests of central W Africa. It is stocky and massive, with a short muzzle and coarse dark hair
2. informal a large, strong, and brutal-looking man
[C19: New Latin, from Greek Gorillai, an African tribe renowned for their hirsute appearance]
goˈrillian, gorilline adj
n., pl. -las.
1. the largest anthropoid ape, Gorilla gorilla, of equatorial Africa, vegetarian and mainly terrestrial.
2. an ugly or brutish person.
3. a hoodlum or thug.
[1790–1800; < New Latin < Greek Goríllās (acc. pl.) name for a race of hairy women in Hanno's account of his voyage along the coast of Africa (5th century B.C.)]
The largest and most powerful of the apes, found in central African forests and mountains. Gorillas have a heavy, stocky body with dark hair, dwell on the ground, and feed mainly on leaves and stems. They live in close-knit groups and have elaborate social interactions.
See also related terms for soldier.
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|Noun||1.||gorilla - largest anthropoid ape; terrestrial and vegetarian; of forests of central west Africa|
genus Gorilla - gorillas
silverback - an adult male gorilla with grey hairs across the back
غُوريلاغوريلا، نوع من القِرَدَه
gorilla[gəˈrɪlə] n (= animal) → gorille m
n → Gorilla m
gorilla[gəˈrɪlə] n → gorilla m inv
the largest type of ape. Two gorillas have escaped from the zoo. gorilla غوريلا، نوع من القِرَدَه горила gorila gorila der Gorilla gorilla γορίλαςgorila gorilla گوریل gorilla gorilleגורילה वन मानुष gorila gorilla gorila górilla gorilla ゴリラ 고릴라 gorila gorilla gorila gorillagorillagoryl ګوريلا، يو ډول غټه انسان ډوله بيزو gorila gorilă горилла gorila gorila gorila gorilla ลิงกอริลล่า goril 大猩猩 горила گورلا khỉ gôrila 大猩猩