"aye-aye" meaning in English

See aye-aye in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈaɪˌaɪ/ Audio: en-au-aye-aye.ogg [Australia] Forms: aye-ayes [plural]
Rhymes: -aɪaɪ Etymology: 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. Etymology templates: {{taxfmt|Daubentonia madagascariensis|species}} Daubentonia madagascariensis, {{der|en|fr|aye-aye}} French aye-aye, {{der|en|mg|aiay}} Malagasy aiay, {{m|mg|ahay}} ahay, {{m|mg|haihay}} haihay, {{m|mg|hay-hay}} hay-hay, {{cog|mg|heh heh||I don't know}} Malagasy heh heh (“I don't know”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} aye-aye (plural aye-ayes)
  1. The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in Madagascar and remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth. Wikipedia link: International Union for Conservation of Nature, Species Survival Commission Categories (lifeform): Prosimians Synonyms: ayeaye Related terms: aye aye, sir Translations (nocturnal quadruped): آيْآي (ʔāyʔāy) (Arabic), այ-այ (ay-ay) (Armenian), əlayaqlılar (Azerbaijani), aie-aie (Basque), ай-а́й (aj-áj) [masculine] (Bulgarian), ai-ai (Catalan), 指猴 (zhǐhóu) (Chinese Mandarin), ksukol ocasatý (Czech), aye aye (Danish), vingerdier (Dutch), fingrobesto (Esperanto), aie (Estonian), ai-ai (Finnish), sormieläin (Finnish), aye-aye (French), aie aie (Galician), ხელფეხა (xelpexa) (Georgian), Aye-Aye [masculine, neuter] (German), Fingertier [neuter] (German), άι-άι (ái-ái) (Greek), איי איי ('ay-'ay) (Hebrew), aje-aje (Hungarian), véznaujjú maki (Hungarian), aye-aye (Indonesian), aidhe-aidhe [masculine] (Irish), aié-aié (Italian), aye-aye (Italian), chiromio (Italian), アイアイ (aiai) (Japanese), 指猿 (yubizaru) (alt: ユビザル) (Japanese), ай-ай (ai-ai) (Kazakh), 아이아이 (aiai) (Korean), slaidpirkstainis (Latvian), laibapirštiniai (Lithuanian), laibapirštis (Lithuanian), aiay (Malagasy), അയ്-അയ് (ay-ayŭ) (Malayalam), bílaneezii (Navajo), fingerdyr (Norwegian), آی-آی (ây-ây) (Persian), palczak [masculine] (Polish), palczak madagaskarski [masculine] (Polish), aie-aie [masculine] (Portuguese), ਆਏ-ਆਏ (āē-āē) (Punjabi), ai [masculine] (Romanian), aye-aye [neuter] (Romanian), ай-а́й (aj-áj) [masculine] (Russian), руконо́жка (rukonóžka) [feminine] (Russian), aye-aye (Scots), aj-aj (Serbo-Croatian), aye-aye (Serbo-Croatian), madagaskarski prstaš (Serbo-Croatian), fingerdjur (Swedish), อาย-อาย (aai-aai) (Thai), ay-ay (Turkish), ай-ай (aj-aj) (Udmurt), ай-а́й (aj-áj) [masculine] (Ukrainian), aye-aye (Uzbek), khỉ aye-aye (Vietnamese), آئی-آئی (āī-āī) (Western Panjabi)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for aye-aye meaning in English (13.0kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Daubentonia madagascariensis",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Daubentonia madagascariensis",
      "name": "taxfmt"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "aye-aye"
      },
      "expansion": "French aye-aye",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mg",
        "3": "aiay"
      },
      "expansion": "Malagasy aiay",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "ahay"
      },
      "expansion": "ahay",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "haihay"
      },
      "expansion": "haihay",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "hay-hay"
      },
      "expansion": "hay-hay",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "heh heh",
        "3": "",
        "4": "I don't know"
      },
      "expansion": "Malagasy heh heh (“I don't know”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "aye-ayes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "aye-aye (plural aye-ayes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "aye‧aye"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
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            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English reduplicated coordinated pairs",
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            "Reduplicated coordinated pairs",
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            "Terms by etymology"
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        },
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          "kind": "other",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Prosimians",
          "orig": "en:Prosimians",
          "parents": [
            "Primates",
            "Mammals",
            "Vertebrates",
            "Chordates",
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      "examples": [
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          "ref": "1849, “Order II.—Quadrumana, [from the Latin, quatuor, four, and manus, hand; four-handed.]”, in D[avid] M[eredith] Reese, editor, Elements of Zoology; or, Natural History of Animals. From the Last Edinburgh Edition (Chambers' Educational Course; [no. 6]), 3rd American edition, New York, N.Y.: Published by A[lfred] S[mith] Barnes & Co. No. 51 John Street; Cincinnati, Oh.: H. W. Derby & Co., →OCLC, page 57",
          "text": "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; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1858, D[avid] W[illiam] Mitchell, Guide to the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, London: Bradbury and Evans, 11, Bouverie Street, and at the [Zoological] Society [of London]'s Gardens in the Regent's Park, →OCLC, page 41",
          "text": "Of the other members of this group, the Aye Aye (Cheiromys), the Tarsier (Tarsius), the Propithecus, the Indri (Lichanotus), and the Cheirogaleus, are desiderata of which we can only hope to become possessed by the future exertions of zoologists who may obtain access to the countries in which they live.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1864, Edward P[ercival] Wright, “Moderatorships in Experimental and Natural Science[: Zoology]”, in Dublin Examination Papers: Being a Supplement to the University Calendar for the Year 1864, Dublin: Printed at the University Press, Hodges, Smith, & Co., Grafton-Street, booksellers to the University; London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green, →OCLC, page 228",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1865, J[ohn] G[eorge] Wood, “Quadrumana; or, The Monkey Tribe”, in The Illustrated Natural History, volume I (Mammalia), London: George Routledge and Sons, Broadway, Ludgate Hill; New York, 129, Grand Street, →OCLC, page 110",
          "text": "The true position of that very rare animal the Aye-aye, seems very doubtful, some naturalists placing it in the position which it occupies in this work, and others, such as [Jan] [v]an der Hoeven, considering it to form a link between the monkeys and the rodent animals. […] It is probable that the natural food of the Aye-aye, like that of the preceding animals, is of a mixed character, and that it eats fruit and insects indiscriminately. In captivity it usually fed on boiled rice, which it picked up in minute portions, like Amine in the \"Arabian Nights,\" using, however, its slender fingers in lieu of the celebrated bodkin with which she made her mock meal.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1968 May 24, Michael Mok, “The Aye-Aye, Man’s Imperiled Cousin”, in George P. Hunt, editor, Life, volume 64, number 21, Chicago, Ill.: Time, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 102, column 1",
          "text": "He does look a bit odd, what with those parachute ears and the round, mad, yellow, staring pop-eyes and the oversize forepaws hung so awkwardly close to his chest. He's named the aye-aye, which probably does not improve the image. But he's a lemur, hence a primate and a cousin to man. A resident of Madagascar, he is threatened with extinction; there are no more than 50 aye-ayes in all the world.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in Madagascar and remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth."
      ],
      "id": "en-aye-aye-en-noun-SL2VWKMo",
      "links": [
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          "lemur",
          "lemur"
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        [
          "Daubentonia madagascariensis",
          "Daubentonia madagascariensis#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "solitary",
          "solitary"
        ],
        [
          "nocturnal",
          "nocturnal"
        ],
        [
          "quadruped",
          "quadruped"
        ],
        [
          "Madagascar",
          "Madagascar"
        ],
        [
          "rodent",
          "rodent"
        ],
        [
          "incisor",
          "incisor"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "aye aye, sir"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "ayeaye"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ʔāyʔāy",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "آيْآي"
        },
        {
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "ay-ay",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "այ-այ"
        },
        {
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "əlayaqlılar"
        },
        {
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aie-aie"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "aj-áj",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ай-а́й"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ai-ai"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhǐhóu",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "指猴"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ksukol ocasatý"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "vingerdier"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "fingrobesto"
        },
        {
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aie"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ai-ai"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "sormieläin"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aie aie"
        },
        {
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "xelpexa",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ხელფეხა"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine",
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Aye-Aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Fingertier"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ái-ái",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "άι-άι"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "'ay-'ay",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "איי איי"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aje-aje"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "véznaujjú maki"
        },
        {
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "aidhe-aidhe"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aié-aié"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "chiromio"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "aiai",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "アイアイ"
        },
        {
          "alt": "ユビザル",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yubizaru",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "指猿"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "roman": "ai-ai",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ай-ай"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "aiai",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "아이아이"
        },
        {
          "code": "lv",
          "lang": "Latvian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "slaidpirkstainis"
        },
        {
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "laibapirštiniai"
        },
        {
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "laibapirštis"
        },
        {
          "code": "mg",
          "lang": "Malagasy",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aiay"
        },
        {
          "code": "ml",
          "lang": "Malayalam",
          "roman": "ay-ayŭ",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "അയ്-അയ്"
        },
        {
          "code": "nv",
          "lang": "Navajo",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "bílaneezii"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "fingerdyr"
        },
        {
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "ây-ây",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "آی-آی"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "palczak"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "palczak madagaskarski"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "aie-aie"
        },
        {
          "code": "pa",
          "lang": "Punjabi",
          "roman": "āē-āē",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ਆਏ-ਆਏ"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ai"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "aj-áj",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ай-а́й"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "rukonóžka",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "руконо́жка"
        },
        {
          "code": "sco",
          "lang": "Scots",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aj-aj"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "madagaskarski prstaš"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "fingerdjur"
        },
        {
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "roman": "aai-aai",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "อาย-อาย"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ay-ay"
        },
        {
          "code": "udm",
          "lang": "Udmurt",
          "roman": "aj-aj",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "ай-ай"
        },
        {
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "aj-áj",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ай-а́й"
        },
        {
          "code": "uz",
          "lang": "Uzbek",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "khỉ aye-aye"
        },
        {
          "code": "pnb",
          "lang": "Western Panjabi",
          "roman": "āī-āī",
          "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
          "word": "آئی-آئی"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "International Union for Conservation of Nature",
        "Species Survival Commission"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈaɪˌaɪ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪaɪ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-aye-aye.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8c/En-au-aye-aye.ogg/En-au-aye-aye.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/En-au-aye-aye.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "aye-aye"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Daubentonia madagascariensis",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Daubentonia madagascariensis",
      "name": "taxfmt"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "aye-aye"
      },
      "expansion": "French aye-aye",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mg",
        "3": "aiay"
      },
      "expansion": "Malagasy aiay",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "ahay"
      },
      "expansion": "ahay",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "haihay"
      },
      "expansion": "haihay",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "hay-hay"
      },
      "expansion": "hay-hay",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "mg",
        "2": "heh heh",
        "3": "",
        "4": "I don't know"
      },
      "expansion": "Malagasy heh heh (“I don't know”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "aye-ayes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "aye-aye (plural aye-ayes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "aye‧aye"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "aye aye, sir"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English 2-syllable words",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English reduplicated coordinated pairs",
        "English terms derived from French",
        "English terms derived from Malagasy",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
        "Rhymes:English/aɪaɪ",
        "Rhymes:English/aɪaɪ/2 syllables",
        "en:Prosimians"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1849, “Order II.—Quadrumana, [from the Latin, quatuor, four, and manus, hand; four-handed.]”, in D[avid] M[eredith] Reese, editor, Elements of Zoology; or, Natural History of Animals. From the Last Edinburgh Edition (Chambers' Educational Course; [no. 6]), 3rd American edition, New York, N.Y.: Published by A[lfred] S[mith] Barnes & Co. No. 51 John Street; Cincinnati, Oh.: H. W. Derby & Co., →OCLC, page 57",
          "text": "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; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1858, D[avid] W[illiam] Mitchell, Guide to the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, London: Bradbury and Evans, 11, Bouverie Street, and at the [Zoological] Society [of London]'s Gardens in the Regent's Park, →OCLC, page 41",
          "text": "Of the other members of this group, the Aye Aye (Cheiromys), the Tarsier (Tarsius), the Propithecus, the Indri (Lichanotus), and the Cheirogaleus, are desiderata of which we can only hope to become possessed by the future exertions of zoologists who may obtain access to the countries in which they live.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1864, Edward P[ercival] Wright, “Moderatorships in Experimental and Natural Science[: Zoology]”, in Dublin Examination Papers: Being a Supplement to the University Calendar for the Year 1864, Dublin: Printed at the University Press, Hodges, Smith, & Co., Grafton-Street, booksellers to the University; London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green, →OCLC, page 228",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1865, J[ohn] G[eorge] Wood, “Quadrumana; or, The Monkey Tribe”, in The Illustrated Natural History, volume I (Mammalia), London: George Routledge and Sons, Broadway, Ludgate Hill; New York, 129, Grand Street, →OCLC, page 110",
          "text": "The true position of that very rare animal the Aye-aye, seems very doubtful, some naturalists placing it in the position which it occupies in this work, and others, such as [Jan] [v]an der Hoeven, considering it to form a link between the monkeys and the rodent animals. […] It is probable that the natural food of the Aye-aye, like that of the preceding animals, is of a mixed character, and that it eats fruit and insects indiscriminately. In captivity it usually fed on boiled rice, which it picked up in minute portions, like Amine in the \"Arabian Nights,\" using, however, its slender fingers in lieu of the celebrated bodkin with which she made her mock meal.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1968 May 24, Michael Mok, “The Aye-Aye, Man’s Imperiled Cousin”, in George P. Hunt, editor, Life, volume 64, number 21, Chicago, Ill.: Time, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 102, column 1",
          "text": "He does look a bit odd, what with those parachute ears and the round, mad, yellow, staring pop-eyes and the oversize forepaws hung so awkwardly close to his chest. He's named the aye-aye, which probably does not improve the image. But he's a lemur, hence a primate and a cousin to man. A resident of Madagascar, he is threatened with extinction; there are no more than 50 aye-ayes in all the world.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in Madagascar and remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "lemur",
          "lemur"
        ],
        [
          "Daubentonia madagascariensis",
          "Daubentonia madagascariensis#Translingual"
        ],
        [
          "solitary",
          "solitary"
        ],
        [
          "nocturnal",
          "nocturnal"
        ],
        [
          "quadruped",
          "quadruped"
        ],
        [
          "Madagascar",
          "Madagascar"
        ],
        [
          "rodent",
          "rodent"
        ],
        [
          "incisor",
          "incisor"
        ]
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "International Union for Conservation of Nature",
        "Species Survival Commission"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈaɪˌaɪ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aɪaɪ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-aye-aye.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8c/En-au-aye-aye.ogg/En-au-aye-aye.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/En-au-aye-aye.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "ayeaye"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ʔāyʔāy",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "آيْآي"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "ay-ay",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "այ-այ"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "əlayaqlılar"
    },
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aie-aie"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "aj-áj",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ай-а́й"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ai-ai"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhǐhóu",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "指猴"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ksukol ocasatý"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "vingerdier"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "fingrobesto"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aie"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ai-ai"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "sormieläin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aie aie"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "xelpexa",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ხელფეხა"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Aye-Aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Fingertier"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ái-ái",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "άι-άι"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "'ay-'ay",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "איי איי"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aje-aje"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "véznaujjú maki"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "aidhe-aidhe"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aié-aié"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "chiromio"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "aiai",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "アイアイ"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ユビザル",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yubizaru",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "指猿"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "roman": "ai-ai",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ай-ай"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "aiai",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "아이아이"
    },
    {
      "code": "lv",
      "lang": "Latvian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "slaidpirkstainis"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "laibapirštiniai"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "laibapirštis"
    },
    {
      "code": "mg",
      "lang": "Malagasy",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aiay"
    },
    {
      "code": "ml",
      "lang": "Malayalam",
      "roman": "ay-ayŭ",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "അയ്-അയ്"
    },
    {
      "code": "nv",
      "lang": "Navajo",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "bílaneezii"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "fingerdyr"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "ây-ây",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "آی-آی"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "palczak"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "palczak madagaskarski"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "aie-aie"
    },
    {
      "code": "pa",
      "lang": "Punjabi",
      "roman": "āē-āē",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ਆਏ-ਆਏ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ai"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "aj-áj",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ай-а́й"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "rukonóžka",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "руконо́жка"
    },
    {
      "code": "sco",
      "lang": "Scots",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aj-aj"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "madagaskarski prstaš"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "fingerdjur"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "roman": "aai-aai",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "อาย-อาย"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ay-ay"
    },
    {
      "code": "udm",
      "lang": "Udmurt",
      "roman": "aj-aj",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "ай-ай"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "aj-áj",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ай-а́й"
    },
    {
      "code": "uz",
      "lang": "Uzbek",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "khỉ aye-aye"
    },
    {
      "code": "pnb",
      "lang": "Western Panjabi",
      "roman": "āī-āī",
      "sense": "nocturnal quadruped",
      "word": "آئی-آئی"
    }
  ],
  "word": "aye-aye"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (a644e18 and edd475d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.