Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2
Original entry ↗verb
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryTo behave like an ape. · To imitate or mimic, particularly to imitate poorly.
From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English place name Avon, Irish abha, Welsh afon), if the word originally referred to a "water sprite". Traditionally assumed to be an ancient loanword instead, ultimately probably from an unidentified non-Indo-European language of regions in Africa or Asia where monkeys are native. Cognate with Scots aip (“ape”), West Frisian aap (“ape”), Dutch aap (“monkey, ape”), Low German Ape (“ape”), German Affe (“monkey, ape”), Swedish apa (“monkey, ape”), Icelandic api (“ape”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionapeenm
- Inherited-form mentionapaang
- Inherited-form mention*apōgmw-pro
- Inherited-form mention*apôgem-pro
- Derivation mention*h₂ep-ine-pro
- Cognate mention*abūcel-pro
- Doublet mentionAvonen
- Cognate mentionabhaga
- Cognate mentionafoncy
- Cognate mentionaipsco
- Cognate mentionaapfy
- Cognate mentionaapnl
- Cognate mentionApends
- Cognate mentionAffede
- Cognate mentionapasv
- Cognate mentionapiis
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "ety",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:ape",
"id": "primate"
},
"expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"water\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂ep-\", \"gloss\" : \"water\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*apô\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*apō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"apa\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"ape\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"ape\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"primate\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"ape\" id=\"English:_primate\">"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "ape"
},
"expansion": "Middle English ape"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "apa",
"4": "",
"5": "ape, monkey"
},
"expansion": "Old English apa (“ape, monkey”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*apō"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *apō"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*apô",
"4": "",
"5": "monkey, ape"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*h₂ep-",
"4": "",
"5": "water"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "cel-pro",
"2": "*abū",
"3": "",
"4": "river"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”)"
},
{
"name": "doublet",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Avon",
"notext": "1"
},
"expansion": "Avon"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ga",
"2": "abha"
},
"expansion": "Irish abha"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "cy",
"2": "afon"
},
"expansion": "Welsh afon"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sco",
"2": "aip",
"3": "",
"4": "ape"
},
"expansion": "Scots aip (“ape”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "aap",
"3": "",
"4": "ape"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian aap (“ape”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "aap",
"3": "",
"4": "monkey, ape"
},
"expansion": "Dutch aap (“monkey, ape”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds",
"2": "Ape",
"3": "",
"4": "ape"
},
"expansion": "Low German Ape (“ape”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Affe",
"3": "",
"4": "monkey, ape"
},
"expansion": "German Affe (“monkey, ape”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "apa",
"3": "",
"4": "monkey, ape"
},
"expansion": "Swedish apa (“monkey, ape”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "is",
"2": "api",
"3": "",
"4": "ape"
},
"expansion": "Icelandic api (“ape”)"
},
{
"name": "ety",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:ape",
"id": "primate"
},
"expansion": ""
}
],
"links": [
[
"ape",
"ape#Middle_English"
],
[
"apa",
"apa#Old_English"
],
[
"*apō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/apō"
],
[
"*apô",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/apô"
],
[
"*h₂ep-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ep-"
],
[
"*abū",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/abū"
],
[
"Avon",
"Avon#English"
],
[
"abha",
"abha#Irish"
],
[
"afon",
"afon#Welsh"
],
[
"aip",
"aip#Scots"
],
[
"aap",
"aap#West_Frisian"
],
[
"aap",
"aap#Dutch"
],
[
"Ape",
"Ape#Low_German"
],
[
"Affe",
"Affe#German"
],
[
"apa",
"apa#Swedish"
],
[
"api",
"api#Icelandic"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To behave like an ape.",
"To imitate or mimic, particularly to imitate poorly."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive",
"transitive"
],
"recordId": "0cb631841030aab86a00f51cd30e5d274bf2d455e6cbf124f7e1764fdcf7d2f4",
"rawRecordSha256": "25a137b0e0d7c2760c1834bd6d6af57c1a834d8d65c2eb28507588fa2df1d7d4",
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}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 0,
"glosses": 0
}
}