Monkey Tuesday Word of the Day: Simoleon

Today's word of the day is a little different than our standard word of the day entry. Usually, we either highlight a word we like that doesn't get much play in English, or we just make up a word for the heck of it. Today, however, we correct a misapprehension about a real word. That word is simoleon. Here's a typical dictionary entry (from The American Heritage Dictionary) for the term:

si·mo·le·on (sĭ-mō'lē-ən)

noun (slang)
1. A dollar.

[Origin unknown.]

"Origin unknown?" Wrong. The derivation is totally self-evident. Note the similarity* between the word "simoleon" and a recent Urkobold word of the day, "simiolus." Simiolus is, of course, Latin for "little ape" and stems from the Latin root word for ape, simia. Therefore, it clearly follows that "simoleon" refers to the number of dollars it once cost to buy a monkey. Q.E.D.

Pictured: One simoleon

* "Similarity" is commonly believed to be derived from the Latin, similis, or "like", but this, too, is a mistaken belief. In fact, "similarity" stems from simia. People can't tell two apes apart, so other things that are as like as apes are, hence, "similar."