Re: Hominoids and hominids

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In more general terms, "-id" means "of" and "-oid" means "like."

This is one reason suffixes are included in many dictionaries.

Jim Murphy
jmurphy@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu

> In message <Pine.3.89.9602151346.A26367-0100000@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu> Ruby
> Rohrlich writes:
> > Yes, my students always assumed that because I talked about hominoids, I
> > must be a zoologist and know about elephants and mice. By the way, is it
> > tautologous
> > to talk about non-human hominoids? I was under the impression that
> > "hominoids" refers to the non-human primates, and hominids strictly to
>
> Ruby,
>
> The way I learned it, "hominoid" is the cover term for apes and humans, both
> living and extinct. It contrasts with "cercopithecoid" which refers to the o
ld
> world monkeys. "Hominid" is a subset of "hominoid" and refers to those
> exhibiting bipedality, apparently beginning with the australopithecines.
>
> This sure is fun! Ron
>
>
> Ronald Kephart
> Dept of Language & Literature
> University of North Florida
> Jacksonville, FL USA 32224-2645
> Phone: (904) 646-2580
> E-mail: rkephart@osprey.unf.edu
>

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