Ape (āp), noun [AS. apa; akin to D. aap, OHG. affo, G. affe, Icel. api, Sw. apa, Dan. abe, W. epa.]

1. (Zool.) A quadrumanous mammal, esp. of the family Simiadæ, having teeth of the same number and form as in man, and possessing neither a tail nor cheek pouches. The name is applied esp. to species of the genus Hylobates, and is sometimes used as a general term for all Quadrumana. The higher forms, the gorilla, chimpanzee, and ourang, are often called anthropoid apes or man apes.

☞ The ape of the Old Testament was probably the rhesus monkey of India, and allied forms.

2. One who imitates servilely (in allusion to the manners of the ape); a mimic. Byron.

3. A dupe. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Ape, transitive verb [imperfect or past participle Aped; present participle or verbal noun Aping.] To mimic, as an ape imitates human actions; to imitate or follow servilely or irrationally. “How he apes his sire.” Addison.

The people of England will not ape the fashions they have never tried. Burke.

-- Websters 1913