entry
gorilla
/ɡəˈrɪlə/Large African ape; brutish or powerful person
From Greek, probably via Punic from an African language gorilla (Wild).
from Greek gorillai , plural of name given to wild, hairy beings (now supposed to have been chimpanzees) in a Greek...
from Greek gorillai , plural of name given to wild, hairy beings (now supposed to have been chimpanzees) in a Greek...
Word Ancestry
from Greek gorillai , plural of name given to wild, hairy beings (now supposed to have been chimpanzees) in a Greek...
from Greek gorillai , plural of name given to wild, hairy beings (now supposed to have been chimpanzees) in a Greek...
In the fifth century BCE, the Carthaginian navigator Hanno reportedly sailed along the northwest coast of Africa and encountered frightening, hairy people—or what his interpreters called Gorillae. The account says his crew captured three females, only to kill them after they bit and tore at their captors; their skins were supposedly carried back to Carthage. Greek writers preserved the name as Γόριλλαι, but the word’s deeper source is a mystery: it was likely borrowed through Punic from an African language, not born in Greek. In 1847, the American missionary and naturalist Thomas Savage recycled this ancient travel-report label for the great ape now known as Gorilla. Later, “gorilla” became a metaphor for a thug, muscle-bound person, or heavyweight organization—so one ancient tale of hairy coastal strangers eventually gave English both an animal name and a nickname for the person guarding the nightclub door.
The Story
In the fifth century BCE, the Carthaginian navigator Hanno reportedly sailed along the northwest coast of Africa and encountered frightening, hairy people—or what his interpreters called Gorillae. The account says his crew captured three females, only to kill them after they bit and tore at their captors; their skins were supposedly carried back to Carthage. Greek writers preserved the name as Γόριλλαι, but the word’s deeper source is a mystery: it was likely borrowed through Punic from an African language, not born in Greek. In 1847, the American missionary and naturalist Thomas Savage recycled this ancient travel-report label for the great ape now known as Gorilla. Later, “gorilla” became a metaphor for a thug, muscle-bound person, or heavyweight organization—so one ancient tale of hairy coastal strangers eventually gave English both an animal name and a nickname for the person guarding the nightclub door.
Modern Usage
An extremely muscular or buff person
Popularized by: Jersey Shore usage documented in Urban Dictionary
Kin & Kindred
From 'gorilla'·Wild, hairy beings; gorillas
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary