ape-man

[ eyp-man ]

noun

, plural ape-men.

1. a hypothetical primate representing a transitional form between true humans and the anthropoid apes, considered by some as constituting the genus Australopithecus.
2. a human assumed to have been reared by apes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ape-man¹

First recorded in 1860–65; ape ( def ) + man ( def )

Example Sentences

Next, the ape-man travels to Algeria to expose a traitor in the French Foreign Legion.

From Washington Post

Dart therefore described the Taung Child as a ‘man-ape’ rather than an ‘ape-man’, like Java Man, and named the species Australopithecus africanus, which means southern ape from Africa.

From Nature

What looks like an ape-man is probably a bear standing on its hind legs.

From Washington Post

But after further inspection, he changed the name to Pithecanthropus erectus, an upright “ape-man.”

From New York Times

In “2001,” an ape-man turns a bone into a weapon, initiating a progression that traces humanity from, as it’s been described, ape to angel.

From New York Times