macaco

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məˈkeɪkəʊ/, /məˈkɑːkoʊ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Portuguese macaco (“monkey”). Doublet of macaque.

Noun

macaco (plural macacos or macacoes)

1. A macaque, or similar monkey.

Etymology 2

From French mococo, probably ultimately from Malagasy maka, maki (“lemur”).

Alternative forms

• macauco

Noun

macaco (plural macacos or macacoes)

1. (obsolete) Any of several species of lemurs.

Anagrams

• Cocama, accoma

Italian

Alternative forms

• macacco

Etymology

From Portuguese macaco, possibly from a Bantu language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈka.ko/
• Rhymes: -ako
• Hyphenation: ma‧cà‧co

Noun

macaco m (plural macachi)

1. macaque
2. fool, dunce

Mirandese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

macaco (plural macacos)

1. monkey
2. a person that imitates others
3. a treacherous, deceitful person

References

• “macaco” in Amadeu Ferreira, José Pedro Cardona Ferreira, Dicionário Mirandês-Português, 1st edition, 2004.

Portuguese

Etymology

Unknown. Thought to have been borrowed from a Bantu language. Bantu maka, "cat", comes from -mañga (an old East African Bantu word for the sea-coast, often applied to any strange or foreign product). But it seems unlikely that the Bantu would have used such a word to denote familiar animals like apes and monkeys. However, none of the many Bantu words for apes and monkeys resembles "macaco". Other suggested derivations include:

• from Kongo makaku (“monkeys”)
• from a language of Madagascar;
• from Kari'na macaca (“simian”), though it may have been loaned into Galibi from a language of African slaves;
• from dialectal French macao (“cat; monkey; long-tailed monkey”), allegedly used in Normandy and Berry.
• from Spanish muchacho;
• from Macau +‎ -aco.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aku
• Hyphenation: ma‧ca‧co

Noun

macaco m (plural macacos, feminine macaca, feminine plural macacas)

1. monkey; ape

   Synonyms: símio, mono

2. mechanical jack
3. (derogatory) ape; savage (an uncivilised or unruly person)

   Synonyms: bárbaro, selvagem

4. (derogatory) monster; freak (a hideous person)

   Synonyms: monstro, aberração, mostrengo

5. (Brazil, ethnic slur) coon; porch monkey (derogatory term for a person of Sub-Saharan African ancestry)

Usage notes

A distinction is not commonly made between apes and monkeys in Portuguese. Where it is, mono is used for apes and macaco for middle-sized simians.

A more common distinction is made between macacos and micos (“small, long-tailed simians”).

In Brazil, it is also used an ethnic slur directed to black people, with a strong negative connotation comparable to the English word nigger.

Derived terms

Descendants

• English: macaco
• French: macaque
  • Haitian Creole: makak
  • → Bulgarian: макак (makak)
  • → English: macaque
  • → Romanian: macac
• Italian: macaco
• Spanish: macaco

References

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese macaco, possibly from a Bantu language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈkako/
• Rhymes: -ako
• Syllabification: ma‧ca‧co

Noun

macaco m (plural macacos)

1. macaque
2. hobgoblin, bogeyman
3. (South America, derogatory, offensive, racist) Brazilian

   Synonyms: brasileño, (colloquial) brasilero

4. (Louisiana) monkey

   Synonyms: mono, chango, maimón, mico, simio

Adjective

macaco (feminine macaca, masculine plural macacos, feminine plural macacas)

1. (slang) ugly, misshapen, deformed, squat

Further reading

• “macaco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014