Etymology

marmoset

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Today it means: Any small monkey, now specifically a Central and South American monkey of the genera Callithrix, Mico, Cebuella, and Callibella, with claws instead of nails, and a rather primitive layout. Full definition →

First used 14th c.Middle French marmouset
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The story

  1. Middle French · borrowed frommarmouset“a gargoyle; a small child”
  2. English todaymarmoset

Borrowed from Middle French marmouset (“a gargoyle; a small child”), probably from marmouser (“to mumble”), of imitative origin.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. Any small monkey, now specifically a Central and South American monkey of the genera Callithrix, Mico, Cebuella, and Callibella, with claws instead of nails, and a rather primitive layout.
  • 15th–19th c. A hideous figure; a grotesque.
  • from 16th c. An unappealing or foolish man.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.