aye-aye Zool.
(ˈaɪˌaɪ)
[a. F. aye-aye, a. Malagasy ai{nfacu}ay{nfacu} (also dialectally ahay, haihay) ‘supposed to receive its name from its peculiar cry,’ Richardson Malagasy Dict.]
A quadrumanous animal (Cheiromys Madagascariensis), nocturnal, squirrel-like, of the size of a cat, found only in Madagascar, where it was first noticed by Sonnerat, c 1775; it is classed with the Lemurs, but in many points approaches the Rodentia.
| 1781 Pennant Quadrupeds (1792) II. 138 Aye-Aye S[quirrel], with broad ears..Inhabits Madagascar..takes its name from its cry. 1827 Griffith Cuvier's Anim. K. III. 86 But one species of the Aye-Aye is known. 1862 Lond. Rev. 30 Aug. 198 The most interesting of recent acquisitions of the Zoological Society, is the Aye-Aye of Madagascar. |