online medical dictionary | definition of lemur

<zoology> One of a family (Lemuridae) of nocturnal mammals allied to the monkeys, but of small size, and having a sharp and foxlike muzzle, and large eyes. They feed upon birds, insects, and fruit, and are mostly natives of Madagascar and the neighboring islands, one genus (Galago) occurring in Africa. The slow lemur or kukang of the East Indies is Nycticebus tardigradus. See Galago, Indris, and Colugo.

Origin: L, a ghost, specter. So called on account of its habit of going abroad by night.

(01 Mar 1998)