orangutan

orang·u·tan

noun \ə-ˈraŋ-ə-ˌtaŋ, -ˈraŋ-gə-, -ˌtan\

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

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

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Male orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) with cheek pads.—Russ Kinne/Photo Researchers

Species (Pongo pygmaeus, family Hominidae) of arboreal great ape, found only in the lowland swamp forests of Borneo and Sumatra but originally in the tropical forests of South Asia as well. The orangutan (Malaysian for “person of the forest”) has a short thick body, long arms, short legs, and shaggy reddish hair. Males are about 4.5 ft (137 cm) tall and weigh about 185 lb (85 kg); females are smaller. Orangutans are placid, deliberate, ingenious, and persistent. Males have flat, fatty cheekpads and a baglike, pendulous swelling at the throat. Orangutans use all four limbs to walk and climb. They eat mostly figs and other fruits and some leaves, bark, and insects. They sleep in trees on a platform built of interwoven branches. Adults are solitary and live far apart, coming together only for a brief courtship. The mother carries and nurses the single young for almost three years. Though generally silent, the adult male has a loud, roaring “long call.” The orangutan is an endangered species.

Variants of ORANGUTAN

orangutan or orang