Where does “she-ape” come from?

she-ape (English) comes from English ape, from Middle English ape, from Old English apa, from Proto-West Germanic apō, from Proto-Germanic apô, from Proto-Indo-European abō- — ape.

she-ape (English): A female ape

Definitions

  1. A female ape

Ancestry of “she-ape”, step by step

she-ape traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English ape

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishapeA primate of the clade Hominoidea, generally...
2Middle EnglishapeAn ape or monkey; a simian creature; A deceiver;...
3Old Englishapamonkey, ape
4Proto-West Germanicapōape, monkey
5Proto-Germanicapôape, monkey
6Proto-Indo-Europeanabō-ape

via English she

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsheThe female person or animal previously mentioned...
2Middle EnglishscheThird-person singular feminine pronoun: she; It;...
3Old Englishhēoshe
4Germanic*hiju
5Proto-Germanichijōshe; nominative singular feminine of *hiz
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱe-demonstrative particle; here; this, here
Every word from Proto-Indo-European abō-