Word
cannibal
Phoneticscan·ni·bal
US/ˈkænəbəɫ/
UK/kˈænɪbəl/
Definitions
01eater of own species
n. a person who eats human flesh, or an animal that eats other animals of the same type.
n. an organism, especially a human, that consumes the flesh of its own species.
“In the movie, the survivors were terrified of meeting a cannibal in the jungle.”
“Biologists observed that certain species of spiders exhibit cannibalistic behaviour when food sources become scarce in their natural habitat.”
Synonyms
02a type of boat
n. a very old word for a specific kind of boat.
n. an elliptical reference to a cannibal boat; this usage is now considered obsolete.
“The old sailor spoke of the cannibals that once sailed these coastal waters.”
“Historical maritime records from the nineteenth century occasionally refer to these vessels simply as cannibals, though the term has long since vanished from nautical jargon.”
Archaic · Slang
Real-World Examples
“Word on the cobblestone streets of the time included rumors that Hessians were cannibals who ate babies .” Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Cariban *kariponader. Spanish caribeder. Spanish caríbalder. Spanish caníbalbor. English cannibal Borrowed from Spanish caníbal, from Taíno caniba, the Taíno form recorded by Christopher Columbus for the Caribs, who were greatly feared. From an Arawak language, probably Taíno, and ultimately from Proto-Cariban *karipona (“person”). Doublet of Carib, caribe, Garifuna, Carijona, Kari'na, and Caribbean.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/cannibal