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ba·boon

(bă-bn)

1. Any of several large terrestrial African and Arabian monkeys of the genus Papio, having an elongated doglike muzzle and bare calluses on the buttocks.

2. Slang A brutish person; a boor.

[Middle English babewin, from Old French babuin, gaping figure, gargoyle, baboon, perhaps blend of Old French babine, muzzle, and babau, grimace.]

ba·booner·y n.

ba·boonish adj.

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baboon

hamadryas baboon

Papio hamadryas

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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