Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ape"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Ape
an animal of the monkey tribe (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21). It
was brought from India by the fleets of Solomon and Hiram, and
was called by the Hebrews _koph_, and by the Greeks _kepos_,
both words being just the Indian Tamil name of the monkey, kapi,
i.e., swift, nimble, active. No species of ape has ever been
found in Palestine or the adjacent regions.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ape \Ape\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Aped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Aping}.]
To mimic, as an ape imitates human actions; to imitate or
follow servilely or irrationally. ``How he apes his sire.''
--Addison.
The people of England will not ape the fashions they
have never tried. --Burke.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ape \Ape\ ([=a]p), n. [AS. apa; akin to D. aap, OHG. affo, G.
affe, Icel. api, Sw. apa, Dan. abe, W. epa.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadrumanous mammal, esp. of the family
{Simiad[ae]}, having teeth of the same number and form as
in man, and possessing neither a tail nor cheek pouches.
The name is applied esp. to species of the genus
{Hylobates}, and is sometimes used as a general term for
all Quadrumana. The higher forms, the gorilla, chimpanzee,
and ourang, are often called {anthropoid apes} or {man
apes}.
Note: The ape of the Old Testament was probably the rhesus
monkey of India, and allied forms.
2. One who imitates servilely (in allusion to the manners of
the ape); a mimic. --Byron.
3. A dupe. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ape
n 1: any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
2: someone who copies the words or behavior of another [syn: {copycat},
{imitator}, {emulator}, {aper}]
3: person who resembles a non-human primate [syn: {anthropoid}]
v 1: imitate uncritically and in every aspect; "Her little
brother apes her behavior"
2: represent in or produce a caricature of; "The drawing
caricatured the President" [syn: {caricature}]
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