Animals, plants & weather

chimpanzee

English first printed the ape's name in 1738, explaining it as a word of 'the Angolans' meaning 'mockman'; it comes from Vili, a language of the Kongo cluster on the Loango coast, and French chimpanzé passed it on across Europe.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Vili to French

From French to Dutch

From French to German

From French to Russian

From French to Spanish

From French to Portuguese

From English to Japanese

From English to Korean

1700Vili

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

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