Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Either of two large arboreal apes, Pongo pygmaeus of Borneo or P. abelii of Sumatra, having a shaggy reddish-brown coat, very long arms, and no tail.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An arboreal anthropoid ape genus Pongo consisting of two species, Pongo pygmaeus of Borneo and Pongo abelii of Sumatra, having a shaggy reddish-brown coat, very long arms, and no tail.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun large long-armed ape of Borneo and Sumatra having arboreal habits

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Malay orang hutan : orang, man + hutan, wilderness, jungle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Malay orang ("person", "man") + hutan ("forest") "forest man". The name "orang utan (sic)" appears to have been bestowed by Europeans. The indigenous name given to the apes Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii by locals historically was mawas.

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Examples

  • While many believe the term orangutan is a reference to its orange or light red hair, this actually isn't the correct etymology.

    isRealli - The New Blog of the State of Israel 2010

  • The orangutan is a Convention on International Trade of Endangerd Species (CITES) I species and was added to the U.S.

    Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests 2008

  • Conservatives (sic) predict without immediate action, the orangutan could be the first great ape to become instinct in the wild.

    CNN Transcript Jun 23, 2006 2006

  • One of my top priorities was to pay another visit to Asia's only great ape, the orangutan, which is endemic to Borneo and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

    NYT > Home Page By DANIEL ROBINSON 2011

  • One of my top priorities was to pay another visit to Asia's only great ape, the orangutan, which is endemic to Borneo and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

    NYT > Home Page By DANIEL ROBINSON 2011

  • The rate of deforestation and habitat loss is so great that some scientists are predicting that the orangutan will be the first great ape to go extinct in modern times.

    TreeHugger 2009

  • Yet the orangutan is a creature who lives alone, seeking out others only to mate--but their fur is an unattractive shade of orange, and they shit at unfortunate times when you visit them at the zoo.

    By Popular Request--Why Not Moose? yuki_onna 2004

  • The sighting of an "orangutan" or some other odd critter in Baker County, FL, has brought out more witnesses.

    Archive 2007-11-01 2007

  • A Florida Fish & Wildlife investigator thinks the "orangutan" seen in Baker County was just an orange-phase fox squirrel.

    Archive 2007-11-01 2007

  • There have been sightings of an "orangutan" around Glen St. Mary, Florida, a small Baker County town along the northern border of the state.

    Archive 2007-11-01 2007

Comments

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  • A word that is sometimes spelled with an additional g. Here's a list of some other words that are much more fun with an additional g.

    August 30, 2008

  • "There is a saying among primate keepers, Heidi Lyn explained, that if you give a screwdriver to a chimp, it will throw it at someone. If you give a screwdriver to a gorilla, it will scratch itself. But if you give a screwdriver to an orangutan, it will let itself out of the cage."

    -- Christine Kenneally, The First Word, p90

    July 16, 2009

  • I don't think they need a screwdriver!

    July 16, 2009

  • Another usage on durian.

    July 16, 2009