What is "monkey"

Monkey \Mon"key\, v. t. & i. To act or treat as a monkey does; to ape; to act in a grotesque or meddlesome manner.

To monkey with, To monkey around with, to handle in a meddlesome manner. [Colloq.]

Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. Monkeys. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It. monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr. fr. madonna. See Madonna.]

1. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana, including apes, baboons, and lemurs.

   2. Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs.

   3. Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of apes and baboons. Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups:

      1. Catarrhines, or Simid[ae]. These have an oblong head, with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old World.

      2. Platyrhines, or Cebid[ae]. These have a round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not opposable. These are natives of the New World.

      3. Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.

2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a mischievous child.

   This is the monkey's own giving out; she is persuaded I will marry her.
   --Shak.

3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.

4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century. Monkey boat. (Naut.)

   1. A small boat used in docks.

   2. A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.

      Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a swivel.
      --R. H. Dana, Jr.

      Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so called from the appearance of its gaping corolla.
      --Gray.

      Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast for the better display of signals at sea.

      Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by sailors.

      Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.

      Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]

      Monkey trick, a mischievous prank.
      --Saintsbury.

      Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin.

1520s, likely from an unrecorded Middle Low German *moneke or Middle Dutch *monnekijn, a colloquial word for "monkey," originally a diminutive of some Romanic word, compare French monne (16c.); Middle Italian monnicchio, from Old Italian monna; Spanish mona "ape, monkey." In a 1498 Low German version of the popular medieval beast story Roman de Renart ("Reynard the Fox"), Moneke is the name given to the son of Martin the Ape; transmission of the word to English might have been via itinerant entertainers from the German states.\n

\nThe Old French form of the name is Monequin (recorded as Monnekin in a 14c. version from Hainault), which could be a diminutive of some personal name, or it could be from the general Romanic word, which may be ultimately from Arabic maimun "monkey," literally "auspicious," a euphemistic usage because the sight of apes was held by the Arabs to be unlucky [Klein]. The word would have been influenced in Italian by folk etymology from monna "woman," a contraction of ma donna "my lady."\n

Monkey has been used affectionately for "child" since c.1600. As a type of modern popular dance, it is attested from 1964. Monkey business attested from 1883. Monkey suit "fancy uniform" is from 1886. Monkey wrench is attested from 1858; its figurative sense of "something that obstructs operations" is from the notion of one getting jammed in the gears of machinery (compare spanner in the works). To make a monkey of someone is attested from 1900. To have a monkey on one's back "be addicted" is 1930s narcotics slang, though the same phrase in the 1860s meant "to be angry." There is a story in the Sinbad cycle about a tormenting ape-like creature that mounts a man's shoulders and won't get off, which may be the root of the term. In 1890s British slang, to have a monkey up the chimney meant "to have a mortgage on one's house." The three wise monkeys ("see no evil," etc.) are attested from 1926.

1859, "to mock, mimic," from monkey (n.). Meaning "play foolish tricks" is from 1881. Related: Monkeyed; monkeying.

n. 1 Any member of the clade Simiiformes not also of the clade Hominoidea containing humans and apes, from which they are usually, but not universally, distinguished by smaller size, a tail, and cheek pouches. 2 (label en informal) A mischievous child. 3 (label en British slang) Five hundred pounds sterling. 4 (label en slang) A person or the role of the person on the sidecar platform of a motorcycle involved in sidecar racing. 5 (label en slang) A person with minimal intelligence and/or an unattractive appearance 6 (label en blackjack) A face card. 7 (label en slang) A menial employee who does a repetitive job, as in code monkey, grease monkey, phone monkey, powder monkey. 8 The weight or hammer of a pile driver; a heavy mass of iron, which, being raised high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging. 9 A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century. vb. (label en informal) To meddle; to mess with; to interfere; to fiddle.

1. n. any of various long-tailed primates (excluding the prosimians)

2. one who is playfully mischievous [syn: imp, scamp, rascal, rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag]

1. v. play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or dishonestly; "Someone tampered with the documents on my desk"; "The reporter fiddle with the facts" [syn: tamper, fiddle]

2. do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly; "The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house" [syn: putter, mess around, potter, tinker, monkey around, muck about, muck around]

(lit. "Journey to the West"), also known by its English title Monkey, also commonly referred to as "Monkey Magic" (the show's title song), is a Japanese television drama based on the Chinese novel, Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. Filmed in north-west China and Inner Mongolia, the show was produced by Nippon Television (NTV) and International Television Films in association with NHK, and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon Television.

The Monkey (猴) is the ninth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Monkey is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 申.

A monkey is a primate.

Monkey(s) or The Monkey may also refer to:

• Monkey, the Chinese zodiac sign
• HMS Monkey, the name of several Royal Navy vessels

Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China, more often known as simply Monkey, is an abridged translation by Arthur Waley of the sixteenth-century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en of the Ming dynasty. Originally published in 1942, it remains one of the most-read English-language versions of the novel. The translation also won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1942.

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This is about the advertising character. For the mythical Chinese character, see Sun Wukong.

Monkey (also known as The Monkey, ITV Digital Monkey or PG Tips Monkey, and often pronounced "Munkeh" in imitation of Johnny Vegas' Lancashire accent), is an animated puppet advertising character in the form of a knitted sock monkey. He was first produced by The Jim Henson Company via their UK Creature Shop, puppeteered by Nigel Plaskitt and Susan Beattie and voiced by comedian Ben Miller.

Monkey has appeared in advertising campaigns in the United Kingdom for both the television company ITV Digital (now defunct) and the tea brand PG Tips, as well as being occasionally featured in TV programmes. Monkey is notable as one of a small number of advertising characters to eclipse the popularity of the product they advertise and also to be reused to advertise a completely different product.

The monkey is a novelty dance, most popular in 1963. The dance was popularized by two R&B records: Major Lance's " The Monkey Time", and the Miracles' " Mickey's Monkey" both Top 10 Pop hits released during the summer of 1963.

The monkey is often referenced on the animated series Johnny Bravo (in every theme song in addition to many times in the actual show), although it may be a completely different dance. The TV series The Simpsons also referenced the dance at least twice (in seasons 4 and 8). The thrash metal band Exodus reference the dance in their song "The Toxic Waltz" (from Fabulous Disaster) with the lyric "Used to do the monkey, but now it's not cool". Characters in the anime series Overman King Gainer do the monkey in the opening animation and in the show itself.

The Monkey

1. Taking a fighter's crouch, face your partner and stand with feet apart, knees bent. Bend arms and close fists, thumbs up.
2. Bend forward from waist to the left, raising right arm. As your body bobs, your head also bobs forward on each count. The whole effect is jerky.
3. Straighten up to original position.
4. Bend forward from waist toward your partner, facing centre, switching arms as you do so.
5. Straighten to original position. Hands and head should give impression of monkey holding two bananas.
6. Bend forward from waist to the right. Straighten to original position.
7. Bob back to centre, bending at waist and again switching hands.
8. Repeat entire pattern. Counts are double time, hitting every accent in the music.

Monkeys are haplorhine ("dry-nosed") primates, a paraphyletic group generally possessing tails and consisting of approximately 260 known living species. Many monkey species are tree-dwelling ( arboreal), although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Most species are also active during the day ( diurnal). Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent, particularly Old World monkeys.

Lemurs, lorises, and galagos are not monkeys; instead they are strepsirrhine ("wet-nosed") primates. Like monkeys, tarsiers are haplorhine primates; however, they are also not monkeys. There are two major types of monkey: New World monkeys (platyrrhines) from South and Central America and Old World monkeys ( catarrhines of the superfamily Cercopithecoidea) from Africa and Asia. Hominoid apes (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans), which all lack tails, are also catarrhines but are not considered monkeys. (Tailless monkeys may be called "apes", incorrectly according to modern usage; thus the tailless Barbary macaque is sometimes called the "Barbary ape".) Because Old World monkeys are more closely related to hominoid apes than to New World monkeys, yet the term "monkey" excludes these closer relatives, monkeys are referred to as a paraphyletic group. Simians ("monkeys") and tarsiers emerged within haplorrhines some 60 million years ago. New World monkeys and catarrhine monkeys emerged within the simians some 35 millions years ago. Old World monkeys and Hominoidea emerged within the catarrhine monkeys some 25 millions years ago. Extinct basal simians such as Aegyptopithecus or Parapithecus [35-32 million years ago] are also considered monkeys by primatologists.

Monkey is a third wave ska band based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their musical influences include the Skatalites, Prince Buster, the Specials, and non-ska artists such as: Elvis Costello, David Byrne and Tito Puente. Monkey has released four albums, the first two as independent releases, the next two by Asian Man Records. Their debut album ¡Changito!, was listed as San Jose's Best Independent Release for 1998. They have toured the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe, and have earned several nominations and awards, including winning the California Music Award (Bammie) in 1999.

The band has gone on to tour the world and has recorded several albums. Monkey's music can be heard on several compilations, as well as movie and video game soundtracks.

"Monkey" is a US number-one hit song by George Michael. It was released as a single in 1988 and reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #13 on the UK Singles Chart. "Monkey" debuted at #42 on 9 July 1988, reaching #1 for two weeks, beginning 27 August 1988.

"Monkey" became George Michael's eighth #1 US single, and the fourth consecutive #1 from the Faith album. George Michael joined Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston as three artists who all had four or more consecutive number one singles during the 1987-1988 era, from one album ( Michael Jackson scored five #1 hits from a single album (Bad) while Whitney Houston scored seven consecutive #1 hits from two albums).

"Monkey" also reached number one in the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart for two weeks and became his first dance number one. When the song was released as a single, the single version was remixed by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.