Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
blackback. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
blackback, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
blackback in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
blackback you have here. The definition of the word
blackback will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
blackback, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
black + back
Noun
blackback (plural blackbacks)
- (zoology) An adolescent male gorilla or chimpanzee.
1979, A. H. Harcourt, “Contrasts between Male Relationships in Wild Gorilla Groups,”, in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, volume 5, number 1, page 40:The author worked with two main study groups of gorilla in that region. Each contained a fully mature male (silverback), who was the obvious leader of the group, and a younger male of around 9 years of age (blackback), who had not yet assumed full adult morphology.
2005, B. J. Bradley et al., “Mountain Gorilla Tug-of-War,”, in PNAS, volume 102, number 26, page 9421:The second-ranking silverback is also a possible sire in the sixth case, although three other lower-ranking blackback males were also not excluded.
- (UK) the great black-backed gull.
See also