mandrill

[ man-dril ]

noun

1. a large baboon, Mandrillus (or Papio ) sphinx, of western Africa, the male of which has a face brightly marked with blue and scarlet and a muzzle that is ribbed: an endangered species.

mandrill

/ ˈmændrɪl /

noun

1. an Old World monkey, Mandrillus sphinx, of W Africa. It has a short tail and brown hair, and the ridged muzzle, nose, and hindquarters are red and blue

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandrill¹

First recorded in 1735–45; man + drill ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandrill¹

C18: from man + drill ⁴

Example Sentences

It ends, satisfyingly, with a funk song by Mandrill, the kind of music for which these moves were made.

From New York Times

Balamuthia mandrillaris was first identified in 1986—not in a hospital but at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where staff were eagerly anticipating the birth of a mandrill, the largest species of monkey.

From Science Magazine

Out of a field that included a “hairless mutant” with no teeth and a crooked face, a creature that resembled “a hyena or mandrill baboon,” and a canine with a “gorilla-looking head,” a Chihuahua mix named Mr. Happy Face emerged on Friday as the foulest of them all, winner of the 2022 World’s Ugliest Dog contest.

From New York Times

“The Lion King” draws on the Christian narrative of a son who becomes a savior but also incorporates elements of mysticism though the mandrill shaman Rafiki.

From Los Angeles Times

In “The Lion King,” a pair of longstanding references to the shamanic Rafiki as a monkey — taxonomically correct, since the character is a mandrill — have been excised because of potential racial overtones, given that the role is played by a Black woman.

From New York Times

Related Words

• monkey