Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
APE
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English apa; akin to Old High German affo ape Date: before 12th century
1. monkey , any of two families (Pongidae and Hylobatidae) of large tailless semierect primates (as the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, or gibbon),
2. mimic , a large uncouth person, apelike adjective
II. transitive verb (aped; aping)
Date: 1632
to copy closely but often clumsily and ineptly, see: copy aper noun
III. adjective
Date: circa 1955
crazy , wild