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 monkeys are believed to be vervet monkeys. —Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 13 Jan. 2026

Officials are searching for multiple vervet monkeys that have been on the loose for several days in St. Louis. —Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026

In short, the proportions of vervets who are teetotal, regular, and heavy drinkers are quite similar to those seen in humans. —Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026

Previously a private livestock ranch, Lolldaiga became a conservancy in 2021 and is home to the endangered Grevy’s zebra, elephants, buffaloes, lions, hyenas, jackals, vervet monkeys and baboons. —Larry Madowo, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025

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