Hylobatids

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family of primates commonly known as gibbons, characterized by their long arms and ability to swing through trees
2. These lesser apes are known for their vocalizations and monogamous social structure
3. Hylobatids are agile tree-dwellers found in the forests of Southeast Asia, notable for their brachiation abilities and social behaviors

Etymology: Hylobatids is the plural of "hylobatid", the name for a member of the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The singular is itself built from Greek roots: "hylo-", meaning "wood" or "forest", and "-batid", from a Greek word for something that walks or goes, here the "bates" of "batēs", a walker or climber. Taken together, the name describes an animal that moves through the trees. The family name follows the usual pattern of zoological classification, where a genus name is given the ending "-idae" to mark a family. Here the genus is "Hylobates", and the family is named after it, so the plural "hylobatids" refers to all the gibbons collectively.

Synonyms: gibbons