gorilla
noun/ɡəˈrɪlə/
/ɡəˈrɪlə/
- a very large powerful African ape (= an animal like a large monkey without a tail) covered with black or brown hairTopics Animalsc1
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- (informal) a large aggressive man
Word Originfrom an alleged African word for a wild or hairy person, found in the Greek account of the voyage of the Carthaginian explorer Hanno in the 5th or 6th cent. bc; adopted in 1847 as the specific name of the ape.
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gorilla