What is "ape"

Ape \Ape\ ([=a]p), n. [AS. apa; akin to D. aap, OHG. affo, G. affe, Icel. api, Sw. apa, Dan. abe, W. epa.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadrumanous mammal, esp. of the family Simiad[ae], having teeth of the same number and form as in man, and possessing neither a tail nor cheek pouches. The name is applied esp. to species of the genus Hylobates, and is sometimes used as a general term for all Quadrumana. The higher forms, the gorilla, chimpanzee, and ourang, are often called anthropoid apes or man apes.

   Note: The ape of the Old Testament was probably the rhesus monkey of India, and allied forms.

2. One who imitates servilely (in allusion to the manners of the ape); a mimic.
   --Byron.

3. A dupe. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

Ape \Ape\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aped; p. pr. & vb. n. Aping.] To mimic, as an ape imitates human actions; to imitate or follow servilely or irrationally. ``How he apes his sire.''
--Addison.

The people of England will not ape the fashions they have never tried.
--Burke.

Old English apa "ape, monkey," from Proto-Germanic *apan (cognates: Old Saxon apo, Old Norse api, Dutch aap, German affe), perhaps borrowed in Proto-Germanic from Celtic (compare Old Irish apa) or Slavic (compare Old Bohemian op, Slovak opitza), perhaps ultimately from a non-Indo-European language.\n

\nApes were noted in medieval times for mimicry of human action, hence, perhaps, the other figurative use of the word, to mean "a fool." To go ape (in emphatic form, go apeshit) "go crazy" is 1955, U.S. slang. To lead apes in hell (1570s) was the fancied fate of one who died an old maid.

"to imitate," 1630s, but the notion is implied earlier, as in the phrase play the ape (1570s), Middle English apeshipe "ape-like behavior, simulation" (mid-15c.); and the noun sense of "one who mimics" may date from early 13c. Related: Aped; aping.

1. wild; crazy. n. 1 A primate of the clade Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail. 2 Any such primate other than a human. 3 (context derogatory English) An uncivilised person. v

2. 1 (context intransitive English) To behave like an ape. 2 (context transitive English) To imitate; mimi

1. v. imitate uncritically and in every aspect; "Her little brother apes her behavior"

2. represent in or produce a caricature of; "The drawing caricatured the President" [syn: caricature]

1. n. any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all

2. someone who copies the words or behavior of another [syn: copycat, imitator, emulator, aper]

3. person who resembles a non-human primate [syn: anthropoid]

An ape is a member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates.

Ape or APE may also refer to:

Ape is a 2012 American independent film written and directed by Joel Potrykus, starring Joshua Burge as Trevor Newandyke. The film is notable for reigniting the American indie slacker niche of the mid '90s, both in aesthetic and voice.

Apes (Hominoidea) are a branch of Old World tailless anthropoid catarrhine primates native to Africa and Southeast Asia. They are distinguished from other primates by a wider degree of freedom of motion at the shoulder joint as evolved by the influence of brachiation. There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the gibbons, or lesser apes; and the hominids, or great apes.

• The family Hylobatidae, the lesser apes, include four genera and a total of sixteen species of gibbon, including the lar gibbon and the siamang, all native to Asia. They are highly arboreal and bipedal on the ground. They have lighter bodies and smaller social groups than great apes.
• The family Hominidae, known collectively as the great apes, includes orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans; alternatively, this family clade is also known as the hominids. There are seven extant species of great apes: two in the orangutans (genus Pongo), two in the gorillas (genus Gorilla), two in the chimpanzees (genus Pan), and a single extant species, Homo sapiens, of modern humans (genus Homo).

Members of the superfamily Hominoidea are called hominoids—which term is not to be confused with hominids, the family of great apes; or with the hominins, the tribe of humans also known as the human clade; or with other very similar terms of primate taxa. (Compare terminology of primate names.)

Recent evidence has changed our understanding of the relationships between the hominoids, especially regarding the human lineage; and the traditionally used terms have become somewhat confused. Competing approaches re methodology and terminology are found among current scientific sources. See below, History of hominoid taxonomy and see Primate: Historical and modern terminology for discussions of the changes in scientific classification and terminology regarding hominoids.

Some, or – recently – all, hominoids are also called "apes", but the term is used broadly and has several different senses within both popular and scientific settings. "Ape" has been used as a synonym for " monkey" or for naming any primate with a human-like appearance, particularly those without a tail. Thus the Barbary macaque, a kind of monkey, is popularly called the "Barbary ape". Biologists have traditionally used the term "ape" to mean a member of the superfamily Hominoidea other than humans, but more recently to mean all members of Hominoidea. So "ape"—not to be confused with "great ape"—now becomes another word for hominoid including humans.

Except for gorillas and humans, hominoids are agile climbers of trees. Their diet is best described as frugivorous and folivorous, consisting mainly of fruit, nuts, seeds, including grass seeds, leaves, and in some cases other animals, either hunted or scavenged, or (solely in the case of the humans) farmed—along with anything else available and easily digested.

Most non-human hominoids are rare or endangered. The chief threat to most of the endangered species is loss of tropical rainforest habitat, though some populations are further imperiled by hunting for bushmeat. The great apes of Africa are also facing threat from the Ebola virus. Currently considered to be the greatest threat to survival of African apes, Ebola is responsible for the death of at least one third of the species since 1990.

Ape (stylised as A*P*E and released in South Korea as 킹콩의 대역습 - King Kong eui daeyeokseup; The Great Counterattack of King-Kong) is a 1976 monster movie. It was an American/South Korean co-production produced by Kukje Movies and the Lee Ming Film Co. (South Korea) and Worldwide Entertainment (USA) with 3-D effects. Directed by Paul Leder and featuring special effects by Park Kwang Nam, the film stars Rod Arrants, Joanna Kerns and Alex Nicol. It was released at approximately the same time as Dino De Laurentiis' 1976 remake of King Kong. The film is generally regarded by some critics as a campy Z movie. In latter years the film has gone under the titles of Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla (for its 1982 grindhouse re-release), and Hideous Mutant (for its original home video release). It marked an early film appearance by Kerns, who later moved to TV movies and shows.