orangutan

noun orang·u·tan \ə-ˈraŋ-ə-ˌtaŋ, -ˈraŋ-gə-, -ˌtan\

: a large ape that has very long arms and reddish-brown hair

Full Definition of ORANGUTAN

: a largely herbivorous arboreal anthropoid ape (Pongo pygmaeus) of Borneo and Sumatra that is about ²⁄₃ as large as the gorilla and has brown skin, long sparse reddish-brown hair, and very long arms

See orangutan defined for English-language learners

See orangutan defined for kids

Illustration of ORANGUTAN

Origin of ORANGUTAN

Bazaar Malay (Malay-based pidgin), from Malay orang man + hutan forest

First Known Use: 1691

Rhymes with ORANGUTAN

Afghanistan, angry young man, arrière-ban, attention span, Baluchistan, bipartisan, catamaran, catch-as-catch-can, cavalryman, committeeman, deliveryman, dirty old man, Kalimantan, medicine man, newspaperman, radioman, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, watering can

ORANGUTAN Defined for Kids

orangutan

noun orang·utan \ə-ˈraŋ-ə-ˌtaŋ, -ˌtan\

Definition of ORANGUTAN for Kids

: a large ape of Borneo and Sumatra that lives in trees, eats mostly fruit, leaves, and other plant matter, and has very long arms, long reddish brown hair, and a nearly hairless face

Word History of ORANGUTAN

Orangutans live in dense tropical forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, part of Indonesia. Like most apes they look a bit like humans. In a language called Malay, spoken by many people of Indonesia as a second language, the apes were given a name formed from Malay orang, “man,” and hutan, “forest”—in other words, “man of the forest.” Europeans visiting the islands adopted the word orangutan, and it found its way into English.