aye-aye
nounEtymology
From French aye-aye, from Malagasy aiay (also ahay, haihay or hay-hay in dialect), supposedly imitative of the animal's cry. However, this is doubted by Simons and Myers (2001) who note that the animal does not emit such a sound. They suggest a derivation from Malagasy heh heh (“I don't know”), used by the Malagasy people to avoid naming the animal, which they fear.
Definitions
The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in…
The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in Madagascar and remarkable for their long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth.
- The other of these aberrant forms is the cheiromys, or aye-aye, which, from the peculiar form of its two lower front teeth, has been ranged with the Rodentia. In the general character, however, it is essentially a lemur; […]
- Refer the following to their respective orders and families:—anteater, ayeaye, canary, cinchilla, dodo, flamingo, flying fox, giraffe, hornbill, lyre bird, mole, paradise bird, porpoise, swift, walrus.
Alternative form of aye aye.
- “Shiver me timbers,” I said to my husband, Peter, “we’re off to Greenwich in southeast London.” / “What the heck are you talking about?” he asked, scowling. / “Pirates,” I said. / “Aye-aye,” he said, “let’s go.”
- “[…] When someone asks you to do something, you do it. All right?” / “Yes,” they said. / “Thank you,” Lise said, looking forward again. “That goes for you too, buster.” / “Aye-aye,” Ken said.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for aye-aye. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA