‖ Primates, n. pl. Zool.
(praɪˈmeɪtiːz, ˈpraɪmeɪts)
Sing. primas (ˈpraɪmæs), also anglicized primate.
[L. prīmātēs, pl. of prīmās primate n.1, in mod.L. (Linn.) name of an order.]
The highest order of the Mammalia, including man, monkeys, and lemurs, and, in the Linnæan order, bats.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. v. 138 This was a sufficient motive for Linnæus to give it the title of a Primas, to rank it in the same order with mankind. 1826 Good Bk. Nat. (1834) II. 47 The 1st order, Primates or Chieftains, is distinguished by the possession of four cutting teeth in each jaw. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man xxiv. 474 All modern naturalists, who retain the order Primates, agree to exclude from it the bats or cheiroptera. 1871 Darwin Desc. Man I. i. 24 Man differs conspicuously from all the other Primates in being almost naked. |