vervet

noun

ver·​vet ˈvər-vət 

plural vervets

: a long-tailed diurnal omnivorous monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) of eastern and southern Africa that has silver-gray or yellowish to greenish-brown hair and a black face ringed in white fur and that is sometimes used in medical research

broadly : a related monkey (such as a grivet or green monkey)

Illustration of vervet

• green monkey or vervet

Examples of vervet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The reason, we are told, is concern about disruption of access to a nearby sanctuary of vervet monkeys, the adorable offspring of escapees from a breeding farm in the 1940s. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026

The star attraction is the massive wraparound deck, which boasts an outdoor shower, plunge pool, built-in misting system, and plush seating for watching vervet monkey antics with a drink in hand. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Mar. 2026

This aligns prairie dog calls with other animal communication systems known to have referential specificity, such as the alarm calls of African vervet monkeys that distinguish snakes from eagles and leopards. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Mar. 2026

In animal studies, vervet monkeys — primates that, like humans, voluntarily drink alcohol — were given the GLP-1 drug semaglutide. —Ziyad Al-Aly, STAT, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, probably from vert "green" + -vet (in grivet grivet) — more at verdant

Note: The word was probably introduced by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and Frédéric Cuvier in Histoire naturelle des mammifères, tome troisième (Paris, 1824), unnumbered plate and accompanying text (dated "janvier 1821"). Cuvier had described and presumably named the grivet in the first volume of the work.

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above