any of several nocturnal arboreal prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, of Indonesia and the Philippines, having huge eyes, long hind legs, and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing: family Tarsiidae
Word origin
C18: from French, from tarse the flat of the foot; see tarsus
tarsier in American English
(ˈtɑrsiər)
noun
any of a family (Tarsiidae) of small primates of the East Indies and the Philippines, with very large, gogglelike eyes, and a long, tufted tail: tarsiers live in trees, are active at night, and feed esp. on lizards and insects
Word origin
Fr, so named by Buffon < tarse, tarsus, from the foot structure