cannibal
/ˈkænɪbəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.05 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "These insects were not uncommon beneath stones. I found one cannibal scorpion quietly devouring another."
- "Up the cave I went, and after me came the others, and after them thundered the whole crowd of cannibals, mad with fury at the death of the woman."
- "[…] that the larvae of Thecla calanus is a cannibal, eating its weaker brethren when short of food."
- "Quickly he learned their simple speech, their native customs, and the ethics of their wild, primitive tribal life. He found that they were not cannibals—that they looked with loathing and contempt upon men who ate men."
- "His expression slack, Green Spider methodically pried out another clod and swallowed it. “I'm a cannibal. Eating the Earth Mother. Chewing the flesh from her bones. Cannibal ... cannibal ... cannibal!” Otter tried to shake off his discomfort, […]"
- "Both authors quote Paul Graham[…]: “You could parachute him [Sam Altman] into an island full of cannibals and come back in five years and he'd be the king.”"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Cariban *kariponader. Spanish caribeder. Spanish caríbalder. Spanish caníbalbor. English cannibal Borrowed from Spanish caníbal, from Taíno caniba, the Taíno form recorded by Christopher Columbus for the Caribs, who were greatly feared. From an Arawak language, probably Taíno, and ultimately from Proto-Cariban *karipona (“person”). Doublet of Carib, caribe, Garifuna, Carijona, Kari'na, and Caribbean.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: caníbal, caniba, -, *karipona