WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
monk′ seal′,
- Zoology, Mammalsa small, dark brown, subtropical seal of the genus Monachus: the three species, M. tropicalis of the Caribbean, M. schauinslandi of Hawaiian island regions, and M. monachus of the Mediterranean, are endangered.
- 1835–45; apparently translation of the Neo-Latin genus name Monachus (see monk), origin, originally a specific name (Phoca monacha), probably in allusion to the animal's gray coloration and isolated breeding sites; compare French moine, Italian monaco the monk seal, literally, monk