monk seal

noun

1. a small, dark brown, subtropical seal of the genus Monachus: the three species, M. tropicalis of the Caribbean, M. schauinslandi of Hawaiian island regions, and M. monachus of the Mediterranean, are endangered.

Word History and Origins

Origin of monk seal¹

1835–45; apparently translation of the NL genus name Monachus ( monk ), originally a specific name ( Phoca monacha ), probably in allusion to the animal's gray coloration and isolated breeding sites; compare French moine, Italian monaco the monk seal, literally, monk