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.

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