pongo
orangutan
noun pohn-GO Rare
Origin: Scientific Latin Pongo, from Mpongwe (a Bantu language of Gabon)
Usage Note
Pongo is the scientific genus name adopted into French as a common noun for the orangutan. It is less common than orang-outan in everyday speech, but appears in zoological and documentary contexts. As a masculine noun it takes regular determiners: le pongo, des pongos.
Examples
"Le pongo vit dans les forêts de Bornéo."
Natural Translation
The orangutan lives in the forests of Borneo.
Related Words
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