pygmy chimpanzee
- noun
- /ˈpɪɡmi ˈʧɪmpənˌzi/
:
chimpancé pigmeo
- Zaire's pygmy chimpanzees may be the most pacific of primates
Examples
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Bonobos, once known as pygmy chimpanzees, have lost 29% of their habitat.
Blog text (23) -
In a legend of the Mongandu people of Zaire, pygmy chimpanzees, or bonobos, and the ancestors of humans once lived as brothers.
Academic text (1990) -
Pygmy chimpanzees, although not toolmakers in the wild, have shown great facility in captivity.
Academic text (1995) -
Bonobos, those lithe apes sometimes called pygmy chimpanzees, all sported the same.
Fiction book (2002) -
Kanzi, a pygmy chimpanzee, first learned to communicate with symbols by watching his mother's lessons.
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Bonobos, once known as pygmy chimpanzees, have lost 29% of their habitat.
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Pygmy chimpanzees, although not pygmy chimpanzees in the wild, have shown great facility in captivity.
Synonyms
13
6.6
A small chimpanzee from central African forests that lives in peaceful groups
A large ape like a chimpanzee that lives in forests of the Congo Basin, often called the bonobo
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'pygmy' (very small) combined with 'chimpanzee' (an ape) yields 'a small chimpanzee', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the referent. Although it names a specific species (bonobo), the semantic logic is transparent and follows regular noun–noun modification patterns common across languages.
Etymology
Pygmy chimpanzee: The name pygmy chimpanzee comes from the old use of pygmy to mean 'small' and chimpanzee because it looks like a smaller chimpanzee. So the name gives a simple picture: it is a smaller, often more peaceful ape from central African forests, also called the 'bonobo'.