‖ Quadrumana, n. pl. Zool.
(kwəˈdruːmənə)
[neut. pl. (sc. animālia) of mod.L. quadrumanus four-handed, f. quadru- quadru- + manus hand. Cf. Bimana.]
An order of mammals, including monkeys, apes, baboons, and lemurs, of which the hind as well as the fore feet have an opposable digit, so that they can be used as hands.
| 1819 W. Lawrence Lect. Physiol. Zool. 175 The crania of all the quadrumana..are distinguished from the human skull by the comparative size..of the jaws. 1833 Sir C. Bell Hand (1834) 18 If we describe the hand as [etc.]..we embrace in the definition the extremities of the quadrumana or monkeys. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man xix. 375 Those species of the anthropoid quadrumana which are most akin to him [man] in structure. 1882 Owen in Longm. Mag. I. 67 This tooth..is the last of the permanent set of teeth to be fully developed in the Quadrumana. |