Cro-Magnon

noun

Cro-Ma·​gnon krō-ˈmag-nən 

-ˈman-yən

: a hominid of a tall erect race of the Upper Paleolithic known from skeletal remains found chiefly in southern France and classified as the same species (Homo sapiens) as present-day humans

Examples of Cro-Magnon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As Much Anymore Cro-Magnon is a term that was used earlier on because these were some of the very first specimens found to show the ancient nature of humans, says Stringer. —Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023

Transforming from boyish to Cro-Magnon seemingly overnight, he was accused of having undergone something more than the natural maturing of a once-upon-a-time Disney star—a surgical intervention, perhaps. —Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2023

For much of the 20th century, the 30,000-year-old Cro-Magnon fossils represented the earliest fossil evidence of our species in Europe. —Brian Anthony Keeling, The Conversation, 2 May 2023

More than a decade later, in 1868, paleontologists uncovered H. sapiens fossils at the site of Cro-Magnon in southern France. —Brian Anthony Keeling, The Conversation, 2 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Cro-Magnon, a cave near Les Eyzies, France

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Cro-Magnon

noun

Cro-Mag·​non

krō-ˈmag-nən,

-ˈman-yən

: any of a tall erect race of people that lived approximately 35,000 to 10,000 years ago and are often placed in the same species as the human beings that live on the earth today

Cro-Magnon adjective

Etymology

from Cro-Magnon, name of a cave in France where remains of the people were found