orangutan

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun

An arboreal ape, characterised by their shaggy reddish-brown coat and long arms, which comprise the genus Pongo, native to Borneo and Sumatra.

Pronunciation

/əˌɹæŋ.uːˈtæn/ /əˌɹæŋ.uːˈtæŋ/ /ɔəˌɹæŋuːˈtæn/ /ˌɔə.ɹæŋˈuː.tæn/ /əˈɹæŋ.əˌtæn/ /əˈɹæŋ.əˌtæŋ/ /ɔˈɹæŋ.ʊˌtæn/ /oʊˈɹæŋ-/ En-us-orangutan.ogg en-uk-orangutan.ogg /əˈɹæŋˌə.tɛːŋ/ /əˈɹæŋˌə.tæŋ/ /ɵˈrɑn.ɡʊˌʈɑn/

Word forms

orangutan orangutans orang-utan orang-outang ourang-outang orangoutang orang utan orangutang ourang outang orang-outan ourangoutang orang-utang ourang-outan oran-outang orang-otang orangoutan orangotang orang-otan uran-utan oran-otan orang-hutan

Etymology

Probably via Dutch orang-oetan, orang-oetang, apparently from Malay orang hutan, orang utan (literally “forest man”), from orang (“person, man”) + hutan (“forest”), although as a term for the animal it is attested only recently (earlier and preferred terms being mawas and mayas). As there is originally no evidence for its usage, except occasionally literally, it must be assumed to have been regional, or a descriptive collocation used to explain the animal to early travellers. Forms in -ng are alterations after the first element, orang. The name orangutan has been used in Old Javanese texts, notably in Rāmāyaṇa and Smaradahana, in the form of uraṅutan and wuraṅutan. Its usage to refer to the apes in these texts (from as early as the 9th century CE) has been seen as a refutation of claims that the name orangutan originates from a European source.

Derived words

Bornean orangutan orangoid Sumatran orangutan Tapanuli orangutan

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