Ape

How to spell ape

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce ape

What does ape mean?

1. nounA large tailless primate such as a gorilla, chimpanzee, or orangutan.
2. verbTo imitate or copy someone's behaviour, often clumsily or mockingly.

Ape in a sentence

• noun

  The zoo built a larger enclosure for its only ape.

• verb

  Junior staff tend to ape the habits of their managers.

• noun

  A gorilla is the largest living ape.

• verb

  The cheaper brand tries to ape the design of the market leader.

Where does ape come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from the Old English apa, a native Germanic term for a monkey or ape, with close relatives in Old High German affo and Old Norse api, all describing the tailless or long-armed primates that medieval Europeans knew mostly from travellers' tales. The deeper origin is uncertain and may ultimately imitate an animal cry or borrow from an unknown foreign source, which is why dictionaries treat its earliest history with caution. From the literal animal sense, English speakers developed a vivid figurative use by the 1500s: because apes were famous for copying human gestures, 'to ape' came to mean to mimic or imitate someone, often mockingly. The spelling stayed short and simple as the language modernised, with the silent final 'e' lengthening the vowel so it rhymes with 'tape'. The same primate fascination gave us expressions like 'to go ape', meaning to lose control with excitement or rage.

How the word is built

• ape (a single root word; from Old English apa, no prefix or suffix)