primates

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. The first Linnean order of Mammalia, composed of the four genera Homo, Simia, Lemur, and Vespertilio, or man, monkeys, lemurs, and bats.
2. Now, the first or highest order of Mammalia, including man, monkeys, and lemurs. The brain has a relatively large cerebrum, overlapping much or all of the cerebellum and of the olfactory lobes, with usually a highly convoluted surface; there is a well-defined calcarine sulcus, and a hippocampus minor in the postcornu; the corpus callosum extends backward to the vertical of the hippocampal sulcus, and develops in front a well-marked recurved rostrum. The periotic and tympanic bones are normally joined to the squamosal. The pelvis and the posterior limbs are well developed, and the legs are exserted almost entirely beyond the common integument of the trunk. The first or inner digit of the foot, the great toe, is enlarged, provided with a nail (not a claw), and usually apposable to the other digits. Clavicles are present and perfect. There are teeth of three kinds, all enameled, and the molars have mostly two or three roots. The placenta is discoid and deciduate. The Primates correspond to the Bimana and Quadrumana together. They are divisible into two suborders, the Anthropoidea and Prosimiæ, the former represented by the families Hominidæ, Simiidæ, Cynopithecidæ, Cebidæ, and Mididæ, or man and all kinds of monkeys—the Prosimiæ, or lemurs and lemuroid animals, constituting the families Lemuridæ, Tarsiidæ, and Daubentoniidæ. Also Primaria.

Wiktionary

1. n. Plural form of primate.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The highest order of mammals. It includes man, together with the apes and monkeys. Cf. pitheci.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. an animal order including lemurs and tarsiers and monkeys and apes and human beings