catarrhine

[ kat-uh-rahyn ]
/ ˈkæt əˌraɪn /

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the group Catarrhini, comprising humans, anthropoid apes, and Old World monkeys, having the nostrils close together and opening downward and a nonprehensile, often greatly reduced or vestigial tail.

noun

a catarrhine animal.
Also cat·ar·rhin·i·an [kat-uh-rin-ee-uh n] /ˌkæt əˈrɪn i ən/.

Origin of catarrhine

1860–65; < New Latin Catarrhini, plural of catarrhinus < Greek katarrhīn hook-nosed, equivalent to kata- cata- + -rhīn -nosed, adj. derivative of rhī́s nose, snout

Words nearby catarrhine

cataractogenic, catarrh, catarrhal fever, catarrhal gastritis, catarrhal inflammation, catarrhine, catastalsis, catastaltic, catastasis, catastrophe, catastrophe theory

Example sentences from the Web for catarrhine

  • The platyrrhine and catarrhine monkeys have their primitive ancestor among extinct forms of the Lemuridae.

    Evolution in Modern Thought |Ernst Haeckel

  • Man is descended directly from one series of extinct Catarrhine ancestors.

    The Last Link |Ernst Haeckel

  • Catarrhine monkeys have existed, we know with certainty, since the Miocene.

    The Last Link |Ernst Haeckel

  • As they belong to the Catarrhine group, their nose has a narrow partition between the nostrils, which are directed downwards.

    A Hand-book to the Primates, Volume 2 (of 2) |Henry O. Forbes

British Dictionary definitions for catarrhine

catarrhine
/ (ˈkætəˌraɪn) /

adjective

(of apes and Old World monkeys) having the nostrils set close together and opening to the front of the face
Also: leptorrhine (of humans) having a thin or narrow nose

noun

an animal or person with this characteristic
Compare platyrrhine

Word Origin for catarrhine

C19: from New Latin Catarrhina (for sense 1), all ultimately from Greek katarrhin having a hooked nose, from kata- down + rhis nose