strepsirrhine

[ strep-suh-rahyn, ‐rin ]

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the suborder Strepsirrhini, which includes lemurs, bush babies, pottos, and lorises.

noun

1. a strepsirrhine animal: modern taxonomy classifies the strepsirrhines and the haplorhines as the two suborders of primates.

Word History and Origins

Origin of strepsirrhine¹

First recorded in 1955–60; from New Latin Strepsirrhīnī, plural of Strepsirrhīnus, from Greek strepsi- (stem of strépsis “a turning round,” equivalent to strep-, variant stem of stréphein “to twist, turn”) + -rhīn “-nosed,” adjective derivative of rhī́s “nose, snout”; rhino- ( def ); catarrhine ( def ), haplorhine ( def ), platyrrhine ( def )