monkey

Etymology

Uncertain. May be either derived from Middle English monk, or borrowed from Middle Low German Moneke, name of the son of Martin the Ape in Reynard the Fox (which may represent an unattested colloquial *moneke, which in turn is possibly a diminutive from Middle French monne, from Old Spanish mona, shortening of mamona, variant of maimón, from Arabic مَيْمُون (maymūn, “baboon”)). Compare Old French Monequin.

noun

1. (properly) A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing humans and apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails, and cheek pouches.
   He had been visiting an area zoo when a monkey swung from its tree perch, swiped his glasses and hurled them into a hippo hole.
2. (inexact, sometimes proscribed) Any simian primate other than hominids, any monkey or ape.
   Chimpanzees are known to form bands to hunt and kill other monkeys.
3. (figurative, generally derogatory) A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:
   1. (informal, sometimes offensive) A naughty or mischievous person, especially a child.
      Stop misbehaving, you cheeky little monkey!
      "Yes. He gets to Paris at seven in the morning. He promised to telephone the first thing." "You expensive little monkey!" "Why?" "It's ten shillings for three minutes, or something like that, and you have to go to the G.P.O. or the Mansion House or some such place, I believe." 1909, Algernon Blackwood, You May Telephone From Here
   2. (slang) The person in the motorcycle sidecar in sidecar racing.
   3. (derogatory) Synonym of idiot: a person of minimal intelligence.
   4. (derogatory) Synonym of uggo: an unattractive person, especially one whose face supposedly resembles a monkey's.
   5. (slang, derogatory) Synonym of puppet: a person dancing to another's tune, a person controlled or directed by another.
      No, no, no, not you. I want to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey.
   6. (slang, usually derogatory) A menial employee who does a repetitive job supposedly requiring minimal intelligence.
      code monkey... grease monkey... phone monkey... powder monkey...
4. (slang, derogatory, ethnic slur, offensive) A black, a black person.
5. (historical) A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
6. (slang, nautical) The vessel in which a mess receives its full allowance of grog.
7. The weight of a pile driver or drop hammer.
   Someone handed me a monkey of grog. I forced myself to sip it, not down it. 2007, Broos Campbell, No Quarter, page 111
8. A fluid consisting of hydrochloric acid and zinc, used in the process of soldering.
9. (slang) Synonym of five hundred, especially (Britain) 500 pounds sterling or (US, dated) 500 dollars.
   A thousandth of a million squid or two monkeys Or a whole fifty scores 2004, The Streets (lyrics and music), “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy”, in A Grand Don’t Come for Free
10. (blackjack) Synonym of face card.
11. (slang) A person's temper, said to be "up" when they are angry.
    I was out rather late one night, when the foreman of my department, who owed me a grudge, abused me like a dog, and told me I might consider myself dismissed, and that I should be paid my wages in the morning. I don't know how I kept my hands off him, for my monkey was up; […] 1864, Eneas Sweetland Dallas, Once a Week, volume 11, page 267
    Reminded me of running up that hill by the Marne – or was it the Morin? – in 1914 when Kearey had got his face ripped open by a bullet and Hedley had got his monkey up [Lost his temper, Ed.] over the Huns killing 8 of my platoon. 2019, John Hughes-Wilson, 1918 - Defeat into Victory: A Tommy Gunn Adventure, page 98
12. (slang) A drug habit; an addiction; a compulsion.
    Monkey: a habit, as in "I have a monkey on my back." Usually used when one is sick from lack of drugs. 1938, Alfred R. Lindesmith, "Argot of the Underworld Drug Addict", Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 29, Issue 2 (July-August)
    {{quote-text|en|year=1949|author=w:Nelson Algren|title=The Man with The Golden Arm
13. Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey.
14. (dance">dance) A dance">dance popularized by Major Lance in 1963, now usually only its upper-body dance">dance move involving exaggerated drumming motions.
    Do the Monkey, yeah, Do the Monkey, yeah, Ah, twist them hips, Let your backbone slip, Now move your feet, Get on the beat... 1963, Curtis Mayfield, "The Monkey Time" (video)
    ...Used to the do the monkey But now it's not cool... 1989, Gary Holt, The Toxic Waltz

verb

1. (intransitive, informal) To meddle; to mess (with).
   Please don't monkey with the controls if you don't know what you're doing.
   “As an inventor,” Bob Mason suggested, “you're a howling success at shooting craps! […] Why monkey with weak imitations when you can come close to the original?” 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter XII, in The Understanding Heart
2. (transitive) To mimic; to ape.
   He winked at Liza, who monkeyed him, holding her own eye shut. 2011, Elizabeth Mosier, The Playgroup, page 83