Meanings
gibbon1
plural gibbons · alternative obsolete guibon
- A small, arboreal ape of the family Hylobatidae with long limbs, which they use to travel through tropical rainforests by swinging from branch to branch.
'[…] Suppose that in years to come, when the Church's troubles seem to be over, there should come an apostate of my own trade, a false historian, with the mind of Cicero or Tacitus and the soul of an animal,' and he nodded towards the gibbon who fretted his golden chain and chattered for fruit.
1950, Evelyn Waugh, HelenaSynonyms: hylobatid, lesser ape
gibbon2
Gibbon3
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA small, arboreal ape of the family Hylobatidae with long limbs, which they use to travel through tropical rainforests by swinging from branch to branch.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsmallest and most perfectly anthropoid arboreal ape having long arms and no tail; of southern Asia and East Indies
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
gibbon · noun
- Frenchgibbon
- Englishgibbon
Reborrowing from French gibbon, folk etymology (compare English Gibbon) ultimately from a Northern Aslian language (compare Batek kəboɲ).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Gibbon · proper noun
- Frankish*Gebawin
- Old FrenchGiboin
- EnglishGibbon
From Old French Giboin, from Frankish *Gebawin (literally “Gift-friend”).
More words from Old French, Frankish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans gibbon, langarmaap
- gibbonsmall ape
- langarmaapsmall ape
Arabic غِيبُون, جِبَّوْن
- غِيبُون (ḡibūn/jibawn/jibun)small ape
- جِبَّوْن (ḡibūn/jibawn/jibun)small ape
- جِبُون (ḡibūn/jibawn/jibun)small ape
Basque giboi
- giboismall ape
Bulgarian гибон
- гибон (gibon)small ape
Catalan gibó
- gibósmall ape
Chinese Mandarin 長臂猿 /长臂猿
- 長臂猿 /长臂猿 (chángbìyuán)small ape
Czech gibon
- gibonsmall ape
Dutch gibbon
- gibbonsmall ape
Finnish gibboni
- gibbonismall ape
French gibbon
- gibbonsmall ape
German Gibbon
- Gibbonsmall ape
Greek γίββων, γίββωνας
- γίββων (gívvon)small ape
- γίββωνας (gívvonas)small ape
Hindi लंगूर
- लंगूर (laṅgūr)small ape
Hungarian gibbon
- gibbonsmall ape
Irish giobún
- giobúnsmall ape
Italian gibbone
- gibbonesmall ape
Japanese 手長猿, テナガザル
- 手長猿 (tenagazaru)small ape
- テナガザル (tenagazaru)small ape
Malay ungka, wakwak (Kalimantan)
- ungkasmall ape
- wakwak (Kalimantan)small ape
- uwa-uwasmall ape
Polish gibon
- gibonsmall ape
Portuguese gibão
- gibãosmall ape
Romanian gibon
- gibonsmall ape
Russian гиббо́н
- гиббо́н (gibbón)small ape
Slovak gibon
- gibonsmall ape
Spanish gibón
- gibónsmall ape
Thai ชะนี
- ชะนี (chá-nii)small ape
Vietnamese vượn
- vượnsmall ape
Welsh gibon
- gibonsmall ape
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gibbon
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
gibbon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gibbon
“gibbon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gibbon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gibbon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gibbon.
Source: gibbon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.