marmoset
UK[ˈmɑːməzet]US[ˈmɑːrməzet]
n
A small tropical American monkey with a long tail and silky fur.
Etymology
The word 'marmoset' entered English in the late 14th century from the Old French 'marmouset', meaning 'grotesque figurine' or 'small child'. The French term is believed to be a diminutive form, possibly related to 'marmot' or derived from the Latin root 'marmor', meaning 'marble', suggesting a small, carved stone figure. This semantic path—from a carved idol or a small, ugly figure to a specific type of small, long-tailed monkey—illustrates a typical process of meaning shift upon borrowing, where a foreign word is applied to a novel object based on perceived resemblance. The modern, precise zoological meaning became fixed in English usage.
Analysis
The word is a loanword borrowed as a single unit from French. It does not contain productive, separable morphemes in modern English.
Examples
The tiny marmoset leaped gracefully between the branches of the rainforest canopy.
Researchers observed the marmoset family sharing food and grooming each other.
Her favorite animal at the zoo was the pygmy marmoset, the world's smallest monkey.