Old World monkey

noun

any of various anthropoid primates of the family Cercopithecidae, of Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and Asia, typically having a hairless face, forward- or downward-directed nostrils, relatively short arms, flat nails, and either having a rudimentary tail or using the tail for balance rather than grasping, and including the baboon, colobus monkey, guenon, langur, macaque, mandrill, mangabey, patas, proboscis, and talapoin.

Origin of Old World monkey

First recorded in 1860–65

British Dictionary definitions for old world monkey

Old World monkey

noun

any monkey of the family Cercopithecidae, including macaques, baboons, and mandrills. They are more closely related to anthropoid apes than are the New World monkeys, having nostrils that are close together and nonprehensile tails Compare New World monkey