cannibal

noun

can·​ni·​bal ˈka-nə-bəl 

: one that eats the flesh of its own kind

Examples of cannibal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Odd tangents by Trump, such as about the fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter or the late golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia, have also become routine. —Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024

Of course, not all tales of pop culture’s most enduring cannibal have been made equal. —Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024

He’s decked out like a Tintin caricature of a cannibal, in bones and a grass skirt. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024

In recent speeches Trump has also likened immigrants to Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal in the film Silence of the Lambs. —Jasmine Garsd, NPR, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Canibalis Carib, from Spanish Caníbal, from Taino Caniba, of Cariban origin; akin to Carib kariʔna Carib, person

First Known Use

1541, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cannibal

noun

can·​ni·​bal ˈkan-ə-bəl 

: a human being or an animal that eats its own kind

Etymology

from New Latin Canibalis "Carib," from Spanish Caníbal (same meaning), from Taino (American Indian language of the Greater Antilles) Caniba (same meaning), of Carib origin

Word Origin

On Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the New World the Indigenous peoples whom he encountered in Cuba and Hispaniola told him about a people living to their east, who periodically raided them and whom they greatly feared. In his log Columbus recorded a number of phonetically similar names for this people, including caníbales and caribes. The Spanish court historian Petrus Martyr wrote a Latin account of Columbus's discoveries, first printed in 1516, that used these two words and widely distributed them throughout Europe. In Petrus Martyr's words, "the inhabitants of these islands assert that the Canibales or Caribes are eaters of human flesh." Later, the meaning of the two words diverged. Caribes was applied to the Carib-speaking peoples of the Lesser Antilles and South America who were so feared by their neighbors; it is also ultimately the base of the word Caribbean. Canibales passed into English as a generic word for any creature that eats the flesh of its own kind.

Medical Definition

cannibal

noun

can·​ni·​bal ˈkan-ə-bəl 

: one that eats the flesh of its own kind

cannibal adjective