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tar·si·er

(tärsē-ər, -sē-ā′)

Any of several small insectivorous primates of the genus Tarsius of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, being nocturnal and arboreal and having extremely large round eyes, a long tail, and long digits with nails except for the second and third toes, which have claws.

[French, from tarse, tarsus (from its elongated ankles), from New Latin tarsus; see TARSUS.]

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tarsier

Philippine tarsier

Tarsius syrichta

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The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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