Denisovan

English

Etymology

From Denisova Cave, where Denisovan remains were discovered, +‎ -an.

Pronunciation

• enPR: dənēʹsəvən, IPA^(key): /dɨˈniːsəvən/

Adjective

Denisovan (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to an extinct grouping of the genus Homo that lived in the Altay Mountains some 41,000 years ago.
   • 2010 December 23, Hannah Devlin, “Unknown Species of Man Identified from Cave DNA”, in The Times, page 17:

     Denisovan Man is the first human relative to have been identified purely from DNA, extracted from the bone and a tooth found in the Denisova cave in the Altai mountains of southern Siberia.

   • 2010 December 23, Ian Sample, "Finger Bone Points to New Human Line", The Guardian, international section, page 18:

     A molar tooth, measuring around 1.5cm on each side and found at the site in 2000, also belongs to a Denisovan individual.

   • 2012 February 1, Alanna Mitchell, “DNA Turning Human Story Into a Tell-All”, in The New York Times, page D1:

     It is the only known place on the planet where three types of humans — Denisovan, Neanderthal and modern — lived, probably not all at once.

Hypernyms

• human

Coordinate terms

• habiline, Neanderthal

Noun

Denisovan (plural Denisovans)

1. A member of an extinct grouping of the genus Homo that lived in the Altay Mountains some 41,000 years ago.
   • 2010 December 23, Carl Zimmer, “Scant Remains Reveal Ancient Neanderthal Cousins”, in The New York Times, page A14:

     And yet, despite their having the entire genome of a Denisovan, Dr. Paabo cannot say much yet about what they were like.

   • 2011 August 26, Ann Gibbons, “Who Were the Denisovans?”, in Science, volume 33, page 1084:

     …this was only the third fossil ever found of a Denisovan, the others being the bit of finger bone and another molar, also from Denisova cave.

   • 2012 August 31, John Lauerman, "Ancient Genome, Modern Brains", The Gazette (Montreal), page A2:

     The researchers were even able to split and analyze the two strands of the Denisovan's DNA, and thus differentiate the contributions of each parent.

Hypernyms

• caveman, hominin, human, human being

Coordinate terms

• habiline, Neanderthal

Translations

a member of an extinct grouping of Homo that lived in the Altay Mountains

• Portuguese: denisovano m, hominídeo de Denisova m

Anagrams

• Devonians, nonvisaed