green monkey

noun

: a long-tailed monkey of any of several African subspecies of a guenon (Chlorocebus aethiops synonym Cercopithecus aethiops) having greenish-appearing hair and often used in medical research

called also vervet

Illustration of green monkey

Illustration of green monkey
  • green monkey or vervet

Examples of green monkey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For example, wild green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) introduced to the Caribbean during the 1600s take alcoholic fruit cocktails from tourists on St. Kitts. New Atlas, 2 Nov. 2024 The Marburg virus was first identified in Marburg, Germany in 1967 after several laboratory workers who handled tissues from African green monkeys imported from Uganda fell sick. Bykai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 3 Oct. 2024 Marburg first surfaced in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany and Belgrade, Yugoslavia, after African green monkeys were imported for scientific research. Mark Kortepeter, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 Among the many stops on the tour was the sugar plantation of St. Nicholas Abbey and the Barbados Wildlife Reserve where the islands charismatic green monkeys live. Jasmine Browley, Essence, 14 June 2024 Animal lovers will want to head further north to Barbados Wildlife Reserve to hang out with Barbados green monkeys, deer and tortoise among the mahogany trees. Anna Haines, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 The first cases were identified in European laboratory workers who were handling African green monkeys imported from Uganda. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2023 Infected green monkeys from Uganda were shipped to Germany and (then) Yugoslavia. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023 The 31 cases that occurred were among lab workers exposed to African green monkeys from Uganda or their tissue, and members of the workers’ families. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 16 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1758, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of green monkey was in 1758

Dictionary Entries Near green monkey

Cite this Entry

“Green monkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/green%20monkey. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

green monkey

noun
: a long-tailed African monkey of the genus Cercopithecus (C. aethiops) that has greenish-appearing hair and is often used in medical research

called also vervet monkey

More from Merriam-Webster on green monkey

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!