Standard Lemma guide

tarsier

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈtɑ(ɹ)si.ə(ɹ)/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈtaɹʃi.əɹ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

An insectivorous primate of the family Tarsiidae, having very large eyes and long feet, native mainly to several islands of Southeast Asia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

nocturnal arboreal primate of Indonesia and the Philippines having huge eyes and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing; the only primate that spurns all plant material as food living entirely on insects and small vertebrates

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: primate

Narrower terms: Tarsius syrichta, Tarsius glis

History

Etymology

From French tarsier, from Latin tarsus, from Ancient Greek ταρσός (tarsós, “wickerwork mat"; "broad, flat surface"”).

Across languages

Translations

41 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَارْسِير (tarsīr) — insectivorous primate
  • Belarusian: даўгапя́т (dawhapját) — insectivorous primate
  • Bulgarian: дългопе́т (dǎlgopét) — insectivorous primate
  • Catalan: tarser — insectivorous primate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 眼鏡猴 /眼镜猴 (yǎnjìnghóu) — insectivorous primate
  • Czech: nártoun — insectivorous primate
  • Danish: spøgelsesabe — insectivorous primate
  • Dutch: spookdier — insectivorous primate
  • Finnish: kummituseläin — insectivorous primate
  • French: tarsier — insectivorous primate
  • German: Koboldmaki — insectivorous primate
  • Hebrew: קוֹפִיף — insectivorous primate
  • Hungarian: koboldmaki — insectivorous primate
  • Italian: tarsio — insectivorous primate
  • Japanese: メガネザル (meganezaru) — insectivorous primate
  • Japanese: 眼鏡猿 (meganezaru) — insectivorous primate
  • Korean: 안경원숭이 (an'gyeong'wonsung'i) — insectivorous primate
  • Lithuanian: ilgakulnis — insectivorous primate
  • Malay: kera hantu — insectivorous primate
  • Navajo: mágí binááʼtsohígíí — insectivorous primate
  • Norman: tarsyi — insectivorous primate
  • Norwegian: spøkelsesaper — insectivorous primate
  • Occitan: tarsièr — insectivorous primate
  • Polish: wyrak — insectivorous primate
  • Polish: tarsjusz — insectivorous primate
  • Portuguese: társio — insectivorous primate
  • Russian: долгопя́т (dolgopját) — insectivorous primate
  • Serbo-Croatian: аветњаци — insectivorous primate
  • Serbo-Croatian: тарзијери — insectivorous primate
  • Serbo-Croatian: avetnjaci — insectivorous primate
  • Serbo-Croatian: tarzijeri — insectivorous primate
  • Spanish: tarsero — insectivorous primate
  • Spanish: tarsio — insectivorous primate
  • Swedish: spökdjur — insectivorous primate
  • Swedish: vristdjur — insectivorous primate
  • Tagalog: malmag — insectivorous primate
  • Tagalog: mamag — insectivorous primate
  • Thai: ทาร์เซียร์ (taa-siia) — insectivorous primate
  • Ukrainian: довгоп'я́т (dovhopʺját) — insectivorous primate
  • Vietnamese: phủ hầu — insectivorous primate
  • Waray-Waray: magô — insectivorous primate