Word
baboon
Phoneticsba·boon
US/bəˈbun/
UK/bæbˈuːn/
Definitions
01the animal
n. a large monkey from Africa or Arabia that has a long face like a dog and lives mostly on the ground.
n. a large, ground-dwelling Old World monkey of the genus Papio, noted for its dog-like muzzle, powerful jaws, and social troop behavior.
“We watched a troop of baboons searching for food near the safari road.”
“The researchers observed the baboons for several months to understand how the hierarchy within the troop affected access to resources.”
02a foolish person
n. a rude name for someone you think is stupid, clumsy, or acting like an idiot.
n. a derogatory term for a person perceived as foolish, uncouth, or incompetent.
“Stop acting like a baboon and sit down before you break something.”
“He felt like a total baboon after tripping over his own feet during the presentation.”
Informal · Humorous · Dialect
Teaching tip
While often used as a light insult for a clumsy friend, be aware that this term can carry strong offensive or racist connotations in certain historical and social contexts.
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Cape Town’s city council has said it will “imminently” round up two baboon troops coming into repeated conflict with residents .” “Indeed, she had for some time been climbing into the primate cages taking the prints of every live simian she safely could: those of lemurs, spider monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees, orangutans and more.” Etymology
From Middle English babewin, baboin, from Old French babouin, from baboue (“grimace; muzzle”), of West Germanic origin, related to dialectal German Bäppe (“lips; muzzle”), Middle High German beffen (“to bark”), Middle English baffen (“to bark”). See also baff, baffle.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.