Cannibal
/ˈkæn.ɪ.bəl/noun
A person who eats the flesh of other humans.
Did you know?English got cannibal through Spanish caníbal, which was originally used for the Carib people of the Caribbean; the word’s terrifying meaning spread through European reports of alleged man-eating, not from an ancient “monster” root.
Etymological Timeline
1490s
Spanish
caníbal
“A Carib person; later, a man-eater”
Late 15th Century
Spanish/Latin
canibales
“A name applied by Europeans to the Carib people, with reports of anthropophagy attached”
16th Century
French
cannibale
“A human flesh-eater”
16th Century
English
cannibal
“A person who eats human flesh”
Modern English
English
cannibal
“A person who eats the flesh of other humans”