lemur

Where does the word "lemur" come from? It comes from Latin lemures, passing through New Latin before entering English (1795).

Lemur’s story begins in Latin: lemures meant “spirits of the dead.” The restless spirits of the dead in Roman belief. By 1758, the word had taken hold in New Latin as lemur. Coined by Linnaeus for the wide-eyed nocturnal primate, evoking ghostly spirits. It reached English by 1795 as lemur. Linnaeus named them after the Roman 'lemures', ghosts of the dead, for their nocturnal habits. Today, lemur means a wide-eyed, nocturnal primate native to Madagascar.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient lemures "spirits of the dead", the restless spirits of the dead in Roman belief.
2. Stage 2 · New Latin · 1758 lemur "a wide-eyed nocturnal primate", coined by Linnaeus for the wide-eyed nocturnal primate, evoking ghostly spirits.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1795 lemur "a nocturnal primate native to Madagascar", Linnaeus named them after the Roman 'lemures', ghosts of the dead, for their nocturnal habits.