English
chimpanzee
Chimpanzee may come from French chimpanzé ‘chimpanzee (ape)’.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentchimpanzé‘chimpanzee (ape)’uncertain
- Englishtodaychimpanzee
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentchimpanzé‘chimpanzee (ape)’uncertain
- Englishtodaychimpanzee
first attested The first recorded use of the name chimpanzee dates to 1738 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
The first recorded use of the name chimpanzee dates to 1738. The name is derived from an unspecified Bantu language of Angola (compare Vili ci-mpenzi), probably brought to the English language via French chimpanzé.
Every English word from French chimpanzé
Today it means
noun Pan troglodytes, a species of great ape native to the savannas and forests of Africa, and believed by biologists to be the closest extant relative to humans along with the bonobo.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French chimpanzé / chimpanzee