Etymologically
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cannibal

Etymology and origin of the English word cannibal

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Spanish caníbal

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkænɪbəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish caníbal, a variant of caríbal,[2][3][4][5] from Caniba, the form in which Christopher Columbus recorded the name of the Caribs of Cuba and Haiti, who were believed to eat human flesh.[2][3][4] Merriam-Webster gives Taino Caniba, of Cariban origin, related to Carib kariʔna “person”.[6] The form was reinforced by later writers who linked it to Latin canis “dog”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who eats human flesh; originally the proper name of the man-eating Caribs of the West Indies (1553).[7][6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The name of a people became a general term for a person who eats human flesh,[7][4] and by 1796 was applied to animals that prey on their own species.[7][4] In the 16th century it was also a strong figurative term of abuse for a bloodthirsty person.[7]

Timeline

  • 1553 – a man-eater.[7][6][3]
  • 1563–87 – figurative, a bloodthirsty savage.[7]
  • 1596 – attributive, cannibal-like, bloodthirsty.[7]
  • 1796 – an animal that preys on its own kind; also cannibalism.[7][4][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who eats human flesh.
  2. An animal that eats others of its own kind.

Adjective

  1. Of or like a cannibal; given to cannibalism.

Word family

  • cannibalism
  • cannibalistic
  • cannibally
  • Carib
  • Caribbean
  • Caliban

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cannibal.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cannibal. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·