cannibalisme

Forms

cannibalisme m (usually uncountable, plural cannibalismes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French cannibale + -isme.^[2][3][4][1] That noun (1515) is from Spanish caníbal, an altered form of caribal, from caribe, a word of the Caribs of the Antilles said to mean “bold”, which served as their name.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1797 in L'Abréviateur universel, meaning the eating of human flesh, anthropophagie;^[2][7][4] Crèvecœur uses it in 1801.^[2][7][4] The Petit Robert dates it from 1796.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Already in Littré's time it was used figuratively for extreme cruelty or ferocity.^[9][7] In zoology it names the eating of members of one's own species by an animal.^[8] The later verb cannibaliser and noun cannibalisation (about 1969) are borrowings of English to cannibalize and cannibalization, not derivatives of cannibalisme.^[4]

Timeline

• 1797 – L'Abréviateur universel uses it for anthropophagy.^[2][7]
• 1801 – Crèvecœur uses it in his Voyage dans la Haute Pensylvanie.^[2]
• 1873 – Littré records the figurative sense “ferocity, cruelty”.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The eating of human flesh by humans; cannibalism, anthropophagie.^[8][2][7]
2. (figurative) Extreme ferocity or ruthlessness.^[8][7][1]
3. (zoology) The eating of individuals of its own species by an animal: le cannibalisme chez certaines araignées.^[8]

Related words

• cannibale
• cannibalesque
• cannibaliser

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette