Caliban

[ kal-uh-ban ]

noun
  1. a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest, described as the half-human native inhabitant of the island, who is enslaved by the character Prospero.

Origin of Caliban

1
First recorded in 1610–15; probably a variant of cannibal or Carib

Words Nearby Caliban

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Caliban in a sentence

  • The wild, uncouth Caliban, the wonderful flights of Ariel—these are creations of the first order.

  • Caliban led the way with young Dave, and Hale walked side by side with them while Bob was escort for the other two.

  • Dan was well hardened to her cajoleries by this time; he was confident that she would have made "sweet eyes at Caliban."

    A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson
  • To one accustomed to the aspect of the normal American population, the Caliban type shows up with a frequency that is startling.

    The Old World in the New | Edward Alsworth Ross

British Dictionary definitions for Caliban

Caliban

/ (ˈkælɪˌbæn) /


noun
  1. a brutish or brutalized man

Origin of Caliban

1
C19: after a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest (1611)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012