Nearby Words
Cannibalism www.ask.com/Cannibalism Find Cannibalism Q&A Results Cannibalism
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noun
1.
a person who eats human flesh, especially for magical or religious purposes, as among certain tribal peoples.
2.
any animal that eats its own kind.
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Cannibal
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Origin:
1545–55; < Spanish caníbal, variant of caríbal, equivalent to canib-, carib- (< Arawak ) + -al -al1; from the belief that the Caribs of the West Indies ate human flesh
1545–55; < Spanish caníbal, variant of caríbal, equivalent to canib-, carib- (< Arawak ) + -al -al1; from the belief that the Caribs of the West Indies ate human flesh
Related forms
can·ni·bal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To cannibal
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cannibal
1550s, from Sp. canibal "a savage, cannibal," from Caniba, Christopher Columbus' rendition of the Caribs' name for themselves (see Caribbean). The natives were believed to be anthropophagites. Columbus, seeking evidence that he was in Asia, thought the name meant the natives
EXPANDwere subjects of the Great Khan. Shakespeare's Caliban (in "The Tempest") is a version of this word, with -n- and -l- interchanged, found in Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1599). The Sp. word had reached French by 1515.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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