rhesus monkey

noun

rhe·​sus monkey ˈrē-səs- How to pronounce rhesus monkey (audio)
: a pale brown Asian macaque (Macaca mulatta) often used in medical research

called also rhesus, rhesus macaque

Examples of rhesus monkey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Wardle thinks Hamilton’s hypothesis makes sense and has co-authored a study showing that rhesus monkeys also experience pareidolia—the first evidence of the phenomenon in a nonhuman species. Byhannah Richter, science.org, 4 Oct. 2024 Researchers in China have successfully cloned the first rhesus monkey, a species widely used in medical research because of its physiological similarity to humans. Sorcha Bradley, The Week Uk, theweek, 23 Jan. 2024 Amit Dave / Reuters To protect public areas from rhesus monkeys, which are a nuisance and often attack people, officials have put up life-size cutouts of langurs, a bigger primate that the rhesus monkeys find intimidating. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2023 Military personnel started comparing the adjuvant combinations on rhesus monkeys at an Army facility in Thailand and ran clinical trials that tested the most promising pairs in humans and devised dosing strategies. Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 4 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for rhesus monkey 

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Rhesus, genus of monkeys, from Latin, a mythical king of Thrace, from Greek Rhēsos

First Known Use

1829, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rhesus monkey was in 1829

Dictionary Entries Near rhesus monkey

Cite this Entry

“Rhesus monkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhesus%20monkey. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

rhesus monkey

noun
rhe·​sus monkey ˌrē-səs- How to pronounce rhesus monkey (audio)
: a pale brown Asian monkey often used in medical research

Medical Definition

rhesus monkey

noun
: a pale brown Asian monkey of the genus Macaca (M. mulatta) often used in medical research

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