gorilla
English
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultimately from an African language.
Pronunciation
Noun
gorilla (plural gorillas)
- The largest of the apes, belonging to the genus Gorilla, native to the forests of central Africa and known for their trait of knuckle-walking.
- 1893, Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, volume 27, pages 133, 135:
- In three of these twenty gorillæ 14 ribs are present, and the additional rib in each of them is below. […] The conclusion that the usual place of commencement of the dorsal type in the gorilla is between the 12th and 13th dorsal vertebræ is founded on notes taken of this character in 13 of these gorillæ.
- A big and brutish man or a thug; a goon or ruffian.
- 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed:
- "I'll do the old gorilla the justice to say that he is open-handed with money."
- (informal) A powerful person or organization; a heavyweight or behemoth.
- 1977, Computerworld, volume 11, number 19, page 58:
- The two industry gorillas — IBM and AT&T — will get together to decide who will provide different communications services, Biddle stated.
Derived terms
Translations
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References
- The Chambers Dictionary, 9th Ed., 2003
- “gorilla”, in Collins English Dictionary.
Afrikaans
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from translingual Gorilla.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌɣoːˈrɪ.laː/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: go‧ril‧la
- Rhymes: -ɪlaː
Derived terms
- berggorilla
- laaglandgorilla
Finnish
Etymology
From English gorilla, from Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡorilːɑ/, [ˈɡo̞rilːɑ̝]
- Rhymes: -orilːɑ
- Syllabification(key): go‧ril‧la
Declension
Inflection of gorilla (Kotus type 13/katiska, no gradation) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
nominative | gorilla | gorillat | ||
genitive | gorillan | gorilloiden gorilloitten gorillojen | ||
partitive | gorillaa | gorilloita gorilloja | ||
illative | gorillaan | gorilloihin | ||
singular | plural | |||
nominative | gorilla | gorillat | ||
accusative | nom. | gorilla | gorillat | |
gen. | gorillan | |||
genitive | gorillan | gorilloiden gorilloitten gorillojen gorillainrare | ||
partitive | gorillaa | gorilloita gorilloja | ||
inessive | gorillassa | gorilloissa | ||
elative | gorillasta | gorilloista | ||
illative | gorillaan | gorilloihin | ||
adessive | gorillalla | gorilloilla | ||
ablative | gorillalta | gorilloilta | ||
allative | gorillalle | gorilloille | ||
essive | gorillana | gorilloina | ||
translative | gorillaksi | gorilloiksi | ||
abessive | gorillatta | gorilloitta | ||
instructive | — | gorilloin | ||
comitative | See the possessive forms below. |
Possessive forms of gorilla (Kotus type 13/katiska, no gradation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Further reading
- “gorilla”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɡorilːɒ]
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: go‧ril‧la
- Rhymes: -lɒ
Declension
Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | gorilla | gorillák |
accusative | gorillát | gorillákat |
dative | gorillának | gorilláknak |
instrumental | gorillával | gorillákkal |
causal-final | gorilláért | gorillákért |
translative | gorillává | gorillákká |
terminative | gorilláig | gorillákig |
essive-formal | gorillaként | gorillákként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | gorillában | gorillákban |
superessive | gorillán | gorillákon |
adessive | gorillánál | gorilláknál |
illative | gorillába | gorillákba |
sublative | gorillára | gorillákra |
allative | gorillához | gorillákhoz |
elative | gorillából | gorillákból |
delative | gorilláról | gorillákról |
ablative | gorillától | gorilláktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
gorilláé | gorilláké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
gorilláéi | gorillákéi |
Possessive forms of gorilla | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | gorillám | gorilláim |
2nd person sing. | gorillád | gorilláid |
3rd person sing. | gorillája | gorillái |
1st person plural | gorillánk | gorilláink |
2nd person plural | gorillátok | gorilláitok |
3rd person plural | gorillájuk | gorilláik |
Further reading
- gorilla in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡoˈril.la/
- Rhymes: -illa
- Hyphenation: go‧rìl‧la
Anagrams
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “a tribe of hairy women”).
Noun
gorilla m (definite singular gorillaen, indefinite plural gorillaer, definite plural gorillaene)
- a gorilla
References
- “gorilla” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “a tribe of hairy women”).
Noun
gorilla m (definite singular gorillaen, indefinite plural gorillaer or gorillaar, definite plural gorillaene or gorillaane)
- a gorilla
References
- “gorilla” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Swedish
Declension
Declension of gorilla | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | gorilla | gorillan | gorillor | gorillorna |
Genitive | gorillas | gorillans | gorillors | gorillornas |
West Frisian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)