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Vinony

ape

noun

  1. superfamily of mammals
L14665 on Wikidata ↗

verb

  1. imitate
L14666 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /eɪp/

adj

Etymology: Clipping of apeshit (“ape-shit (crazy)”).

  1. Wild; crazy.

    “We were ape over the new look.”

    “He went ape when he heard the bad news.”

noun

Etymology: From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English place name Avon, Irish abha, Welsh afon), if the word originally referred to a "water sprite". Traditionally assumed to be an ancient loanword instead, ultimately probably from an unidentified non-Indo-European language of regions in Africa or Asia where monkeys are native. Cognate with Scots aip (“ape”), West Frisian aap (“ape”), Dutch aap (“monkey, ape”), Low German Ape (“ape”), German Affe (“monkey, ape”), Swedish apa (“monkey, ape”), Icelandic api (“ape”).

  1. An anthropoid of the superfamily Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail.

    “Of vvhat texte thou proveſt hell / vvill a nother prove purgatory / a nother lymbo patrum / and a nother the aſſumpcion of oure ladi: And a nother ſhall prove of the ſame texte that an Ape hath a tayle.”

  2. A Hominoidea primate other than a human.
  3. An unintelligent or unsophisticated person, especially one who behaves irrationally or in an uncivilised manner.
  4. An unintelligent or unsophisticated person, especially one who behaves irrationally or in an uncivilised manner.

    “Animalistic dehumanisation, 'simianisation' and the animalising of black bodies through metaphorically likening these individuals to 'baboons,' 'monkeys' or 'apes' reveals racialised animality discourse in South Africa.”

  5. One who apes; a foolish imitator.
  6. A person who invests in meme stock, especially one who uses subreddits such as /r/wallstreetbets.

    “I could not think of a better representation of the good in this world, let alone this r***^([sic]) band of apes on Reddit.”

    “The tragic consequences of Bed Bath & Beyond's whiplashing fortunes have cast an even darker cloud over Cohen's reputation. But in all likelihood the meme-stock phenomenon is here to stay--even if Cohen and his ilk are profiting off the backs of the "apes" who support them.”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English place name Avon, Irish abha, Welsh afon), if the word originally referred to a "water sprite". Traditionally assumed to be an ancient loanword instead, ultimately probably from an unidentified non-Indo-European language of regions in Africa or Asia where monkeys are native. Cognate with Scots aip (“ape”), West Frisian aap (“ape”), Dutch aap (“monkey, ape”), Low German Ape (“ape”), German Affe (“monkey, ape”), Swedish apa (“monkey, ape”), Icelandic api (“ape”).

  1. To behave like an ape.
  2. To imitate or mimic, particularly to imitate poorly.

    “And well their dignity it ſuits, / To ape the gravity of brutes.”

    “But there’s this difference; one is gold put to the use of paving-stones, and the other is tin polished to ape a service of silver.”