aye-aye

Meaning

Noun

• The lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis, a solitary nocturnal quadruped found in Madagascar and remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth.

Origin

• From French aye-aye, from Malagasy aiay (also ahay, haihay or hay-hay in dialect), supposedly imitative of the animal's cry. However, this is doubted by Simons and Myers (2001) who note that the animal does not emit such a sound. They suggest a derivation from Malagasy heh heh ("I don't know"), used by the Malagasy people to avoid naming the animal, which they fear.