chimponaut

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English

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Etymology

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Blend of chimp +‎ astronaut

Noun

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chimponaut (plural chimponauts)

  1. A chimpanzee used in a spaceflight programme.
    • 1961 December 8, “Science: Meditative Chimponaut”, in Time[1]:
      After two hours of fussing, Enos. the 5½-year-old chimponaut, was ready to ride the first passenger-carrying orbital flight of U.S. Project Mercury.
    • 2007, Jon Cohen, “The Endangered Lab Chimp”, in Science, volume 315, number 5811, →DOI, page 451:
      But scientists around the world have also performed studies that are now considered bizarre or brutal. The U.S. Air Force’s chimponaut program shot them into space.

Synonyms

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