Tarzan
/ˈtɑɹzæn/ proper noun, noun, verb
Forms Tarzans Tarzaning Tarzaned Tarzan of the Apes
- proper noun (fiction) A heroic fictional character, raised from a baby to adulthood in the African jungle by apes.
- noun (by extension) A strong wild man; any man showing attributes of Tarzan, as muscularity, agility, etc.
- verb To behave in the manner of Tarzan, especially by swinging from ropes, climbing trees, and other feats of athleticism.
Synonyms
Etymology
Coined by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. A name created by Burroughs for his fiction.
In the fictional ape language of the books, "tarzan" means "white-skin"; possibly echoic in its phonetics of various "exotic" names (see Orientalism).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Tarzan”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details