[mahr-muh-zet, -set] /ˈmɑr məˌzɛt, -ˌsɛt/

any of several small, squirrellike, South and Central American monkeys of the genera Callithrix, Leontocebus, etc., having soft fur and a long, nonprehensile tail: some species are endangered.
any small South American monkey of the genus Callithrix and related genera, having long hairy tails, clawed digits, and tufts of hair around the head and ears: family Callithricidae
pygmy marmoset, a related form, Cebuella pygmaea: the smallest monkey, inhabiting tropical forests of the Amazon

“small monkey,” late 14c., from Old French marmoset “grotesque figurine; fool, jester” (late 13c.), perhaps a variant of marmote “long-tailed monkey, ape,” then, as a term of endearment, “little child;” said to be from marmonner, marmotter “to mutter, mumble,” probably of imitative origin. Some French authorities suggest a derivation of marmoset from marmor “marble,” as if “little marble figurine.”


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